Guan Eng has accused the BN minister of mounting a serial attack to “undermine the Penang state government with lies and racist sentiments”
Datuk Seri Rais Yatim has struck back at Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for labelling him a liar in a language row that is threatening to turn into a racial issue that could split Malaysians further at the next polls predicted to be called early next year.
The information, communication and culture minister attacked Lim for warning the former “not [to] lie like Utusan Malaysia but prove which Penang state government official function he attended that sidelined Bahasa Malaysia”.
“There is no reason for Lim Guan Eng to state I was ‘lying’ like Utusan. The host Han Chiang (College) did not use a single word of the national language, Bahasa Melayu, that night,” Umno-owned Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia, reported Rais as saying today.
The paper has been playing up the tension between the two political foes and continued to frontpage the bitter rivalry today.
“Guan Eng should advise his henchmen in the institute to respect the national language,” the veteran minister and long-time champion for the Malay language insisted.
Rais had attended an event hosted by Han Chiang College, a private vernacular education institution in Penang on September 29 as the prime minister’s envoy.
The school is seen as a symbol of the DAP’s historic triumph over the ruling federal coalition’s hold on Penang in the landmark Election 2008 where thousands thronged the grounds to express their sentiments against Barisan Nasional (BN).
PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s presence there would have been seen as part of the BN’s determination to wrest back Penang from the DAP’s clutches. However, he had to attend the launch of the United Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) in the national capital.
Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, dared Rais to back up what the CM said were false and dangerous claims against the state government.
“If Rais can prove which Penang state government official function attended by him that did not use Bahasa Malaysia, the Penang state government will act to correct this mistake.
“However if he fails to show proof, then he should retract his remarks and apologise. Otherwise, he would be exposed as a man without honour and even a racist for trying to use this lie to work up the sentiments of the Malays,” Lim said in a statement yesterday that pointed out the Han Chiang function was a private event.
He accused the BN minister of mounting a serial attack to “undermine the Penang state government with lies and racist sentiments” and warned the latter to stop the “reckless act that threatens the harmony and stability of our society”.
