The resignation of Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim as DAP vice-chairperson may escalate into a war of words after Tunku Aziz called DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng “ biadap ” (uncouth) and a “demagogue” in an MCA-owned daily.

In an exclusive interview with The Star , an English daily owned by DAP’s arch-enemy MCA, published today, the 78-year-old ex-Bank Negara adviser said Guan Eng had insulted him by offering him a new post on the state think-tank which comes with a stipend of RM50,000.

The offer, made by Guan Eng in a phone call on Sunday, had sped up his decision to quit.

The next day, he announced the shocking news in a special live interview with ntv7, a TV station linked to Umno. 

“I do not know if it was an act of compassion or the need to compensate me for the loss of the senator’s post. He offered me a senior fellowship in the Penang Institute, dangling travel as an attraction.

“Then yesterday, Zairil Khir Johari (Guan Eng’s political secretary) called and repeated the offer and stated there was a stipend of RM50,000 to go with it.

NONE “I regard the offer as totally insulting. It came from someone who had no sense of respect. Did he think I was that sort of a person?” Tunku Aziz ( left ) was quoted as saying.

He considered the move as an attempt to bribe him.

“This man has no sense of decency. As a senior person, I think it is biadap (uncouth). This was what really made me decide to announce my resignation. I will not work with this man,” he said.

The founder of Transparency International-Malaysia chapter told the daily that he trusted DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang but not his son Guan Eng, whom he described as a “different kettle of fish”.

Commenting on his resignation, Tunku Aziz said it was “a deep sense of relief of being freed from the tyranny of a demagogue”.

Unhappy with refusal to reply to email

He was also unhappy with Guan Eng’s refusal to reply an email he had written over a rebuke the Penang chief minister had issued over his comments on Bersih.

“I had offered to resign from the (party) CEC (central executive committee) and after an appropriate and dignified time, also resign from the party if that was the solution needed to bring back harmony into the party.

“But there was no reply. Guan Eng did not write back to me. He did not have the decency to do so. But Kit Siang came to see me twice at my home and hoped that it would not come to that,” said Tunku Aziz.

On Bersih, Tunku Aziz reiterated that he is a staunch supporter of the movement and its call for clean and fair elections, but against its plan to hold the rally at Dataran Merdeka.

“I am not against the party. I am just against the attitude taken by the party secretary-general, particularly when he falsely accused me of going against the party decision to support Bersih. I have always stood for clean and fair elections.”

Tunku Aziz said Guan Eng’s rebuke against him gave the impression that what he had said was against the party as well as Bersih and this was why he decided to “withdraw from the party”.

In another interview with Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia , Tunku Aziz said his decision is final and will not accept any persuasion from DAP and Guan Eng.

“No matter who intends to persuade me, my decision is final. I quit with dignity and without a single thought to return,” he was quoted as saying.