Guan Eng mulls suing The Star over comment piece
Penang CM irked over story claiming that he will pull out from Pakatan Harapan if “PKR 5” abstain from voting on Umno motion.
(FMT) – Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is mulling taking legal action against English daily The Star, over an opinion piece they published today about Pakatan Harapan.
Describing the opinion piece as a “malicious lie”, Lim said he would speak to his lawyers about a possible suit.
“I will ask my lawyers if we can take legal action on the story.
“The opinion piece is a malicious lie and I will leave it to my lawyers to decide. Ok, no further comments,” he said in a press conference at the state Legislative Assembly sitting here today.
The offending article, titled “Pakatan’s survival hinges on land reclamation motion to be tabled in state assembly” and written by regional editor K Suthakar, claimed that Lim had warned that DAP would leave (the Opposition coalition) if PKR abstained from voting in an Umno motion on land reclamation at the state assembly.
“DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is said to have warned PKR assemblymen during a Pakatan Harapan pre-council meeting on Tuesday that his party would go the ‘PAS way’ if the PKR assemblymen abstained during the vote,” the comment piece read.
The Star and Suthakar did not respond for comments at the time of writing.
Pulau Betong rep Muhammad Farid Saad of Umno has proposed a similar motion on land reclamation to the one that hogged headlines last year.
His proposed motion is to “urge the state government to cancel (land) reclamation works involving some 4,000 acres at the south of Penang Island and seek alternative financing for the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan.”
Last year, five Penang PKR assemblymen abstained from voting in the Umno motion, earning Lim’s wrath.
The five assemblymen were Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah); Cheah Kah Peng (Kebun Bunga); Dr Norela Ariffin (Penanti); Dr T Jayabalan (Batu Uban); and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubuk).
However, the motion was defeated after 23 assemblymen voted against it and only 10 voted for it.
Yesterday, PKR deputy president Mohammed Azmin Ali told the PKR five to toe line in Penang, saying it was important for backbenchers to support state policies.
