Written by Regina William, The Edge
The attempts by certain parties to bring down the Penang state government will not bear fruit, says Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Commenting on the scathing remarks made against his leadership by two Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) MPs namely Bayan Baru's Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohd Hashim and Nibong Tebal's Tan Tee Beng, Lim said the attempts to discredit him were also desperate attempts by Barisan Nasional (BN) to divert attention from the ongoing trial of PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"The Penang state government will not fall and they can try all they want as they are attempting to do with all Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states.
"Everything is well and fine between the Pakatan Rakyat leaders in Penang from PKR, DAP and PAS. They are with the state government all the way, in every effort that is being undertaken. It is only one or two who are 'unwell'.
"Their attempts to destabilise the state government won't material as the people know what is happening. These elements in PKR are working with some parties to divert everyone's attention from the trial.
"As PKR leaders, they should be focusing on the trial instead of hitting the PKR worse than they have ever hit out at the BN.
"It is clear that while their bodies are with the PKR, their hearts and souls are already elsewhere and not with the party," Lim said at a press conference after meeting staff of the Penang Development Corporation and its subsidiaries.
He said what was being levelled at him was nothing compared to what Anwar and his family were being put through now, once again, after 10 years, on new sodomy charges.
Saying that the allegations by Zahrain and Tan did not deserve comment, Lim said the state government would not be distracted from its main task of governing the state based on its competency, accountability and transparency (CAT) principles.
He said the attempts to discredit him were the creation of media organisations whom he accused of resorting to printing lies to bring the state government down.
He cited a frontpage media report recently which quoted PKR Secretary-General Saifuddin Nasution saying that PKR would act against him (Lim) which Saifuddin has since denied in a media statement and reiterated PKR's support for Lim and the DAP.
"Is this the standard of responsible reporting? I am beyond disgust and filled with a sense of numbness that some newspapers would resort to such acts.
"Where is your professionalism and integrity as journalists? Journalists are supposed to report facts and let the facts tell the story instead of creating facts," Lim said.
He said certain media also chose to create unrest among the people in Penang by highlighting that only Malays were being targetted during the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) enforcement action, while the facts via statistics showed otherwise.
"In fact, the statistics show that Malays who faced enforcement action under this state government is fewer than during BN's rule," Lim added.
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