Perak DAP boss: Keshvinder was in a financial rut

By Rahmah Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR: Malim Nawar assemblyman Keshvinder Singh may have taken the “million-dollar” bait because of his financial problems, Perak DAP chief Ngeh Khoo Ham said today.

Ngeh was commenting on Keshvinder's decision to quit the party yesterday, citing lack of confidence in DAP and Pakatan Rakyat.

Keshvinder denied that he was bought over by Barisan Nasional, but Ngeh said the lawyer-turned-politician was caught in a financial rut, which even saw his car being repossessed.

"When he came back from the Sibu by-election, his car was repossessed since he did not pay the instalments for a few months.

“It was Pakatan backbenchers chairman Idham Lim who helped Keshvinder settle the RM3,500 to reclaim his car,” he said.



Ngeh revealed that he also received complaints from the Ipoh Royal Club that Keshvinder did not pay his subscription fee.

"He (Keshvinder) told me me I should help him as it will tarnish his image as a DAP elected rep," he said.
Apart from this, Ngeh also confirmed FMT's report yesterday that one of Keshvinder's law firm staff had absconded with RM45,000 of his client's money.

"We advised him to lodge a police report. As lawyers, we know if our staff take money, we are covered by professional insurance.

"He said he will lodge a report but I don't know if he has done so. We told him that if the insurance does not cover him, we will help him find other ways,” he said.

Yesterday, DAP's Sungkai assemblyman A Sivanesan and Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran told FMT that an Umno leader had allegedly blackmailed Keshvinder over the missing money.

'Swear in a Sikh temple if you dare'

Meanwhile, Ngeh said they were informed by some "sympaththic Umno friends" that Keshvinder was planning to quit soon.

"After we received the news, we sent our Keranji assemblyman Chen Fook Chai to his house only to discover that his house was in total darkness although his wife's car was there

"When we called his assistant yesterday morning, he said Keshvinder was on holiday but did not specify where. The next thing we knew, he appeared at the Holiday Villa hotel in Subang to announce his resignation," he added.

Based on the information he received, Ngeh claimed that Keshvinder was offered “millions” to exit DAP but the sum was not as high as the alleged RM20 million offered to him previously.

He said the reward was higher then because BN wanted to oust the Pakatan state government, which it eventually did later.

Keshvinder himself had filed a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the RM20 million offer.

"We know that he has been offered money many times before. Surely, there must have been an offer now as well,” said Ngeh, challenging Keshvinder to swear in a Sikh temple that there was no monetary reward for his action.

Despite numerous attempts, the Malim Nawar assemblyman could not be reached for comment.