IT has taken more than three decades for former DAP stalwart Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye to break his silence on the reason he took the drastic step of quitting from the party that was his entire political life. In his newly-released memoir, Call Lee Lam Thye – Recalling a Lifetime of Service, the legendary former Member of Parliament for Bukit Bintang wrote of how he endured unbearable internal politics, including relentless allegations. In the end, these unhappy episodes remain in the past, providing students of history and politics with better insight of what transpired in our nation’s political history. Former New Straits Times group editor, the late Datuk Ahmad A. Talib, once wrote that a popular quote among Malay voters in the 1970s was “kalau Lee Lam Thye lawan di Kampung Baru pun dia boleh menang” (if Lee Lam Thye contests in Kampung Baru, a predominantly Malay area, he could still win). But Lee has certainly left a mark in Malaysia’s parliamentary and political history.
