KUALA LUMPUR: Country Heights group founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew has distanced himself from the World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF), which recently courted controversy for inviting former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Najib is schedule to deliver his keynote address, attend the gala dinner and award ceremony as part of the event, at Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya.
In a statement today, Lee said it was a great embarrassment that others thought it was him who invited Najib to attend WCEF.
"I really feel embarrassed when being confronted by friends enquiring if I have invited Najib to officiate the WCEF. I wish to clarify and to put on record that this new World Chinese Economic Forum has nothing to do with me," he said.
According to Lee, the initial WCEF originally had been founded by him in 2009 and the forum was first hosted in the Palace of Golden Horses supported by Tan Sri Michael Yeoh, after a few years.
However, he said the name of the forum had since been changed to World Chinese Economic Summit and then this year to Global Chinese Economic and Technology Summit.
"I have come to know the organiser of the Dec 27 event has been using the name of WCEF and some of our past photos in China two years ago and has called it the 11th WCEF. This will surely cause confusion."
Lee said the organiser of today's (December 27) event should not call it 11th WCEF in the first place.
He made a clear stand that Malaysians should respect the judiciary and uphold the Rule of Law in Malaysia.
"To involve Najib in this 'new' WCEF which is not organised by me is a huge embarrassment to me. I am a citizen who pays great attention to the Rukun Negara. On the one hand, this incident made me feel embarrassed, and on the other, it made me feel flattered.
"It shows that the name of the WCEF, which I initiated at the beginning, has a strong influence, and its positive energy inspires many people to participate, but I strongly oppose plagiarism," he added.