DAP HQ arson: Umno rapped for 'politicising' issue

Penang Umno got a shelling from Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today for trying to policitise the paint smearing incident at the DAP's headquarters on Sunday.

He brushed aside state Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman's demand that he retract his statement, which had allegedly turned the incident into a racial issue.

Lim had harsh words for the dominant BN party, saying he had no time for "extremists like Umno" that tried to politicise the incident.

"We are filled with sorrow, and Zainal Abidin is saying this. It is a typical act of extremists, I have no time for him," he lamented at a press conference at the state DAP headquarters.

The DAP secretary-general was visiting the state headquarters on Jalan Talipon to look into yesterday's pre-dawn suspected arson attack.

Lim was asked to comment on Zainal Abidin's call to him to withdraw his accusation linking Muslims with the paint splashing incident.

Bernama quoted Zainal Abdidin (right) as saying that Lim's statement implied that the paint was splashed by Muslims.

He added that as chief minister, Lim should not make a statement without proof, let alone link it to a sensitive religious issue.

Malaysiakini had reported Lim as saying that the incident was probably linked to the controversy over the Penang Fatwa Council's ban on the use of loudspeakers by mosques for the recital of Quranic verses before the dawn prayer.

Lim also called on Zainal Abidin to come clean on Umno's role behind a recent protest by several Malay NGOs on the Penang bridge.

Zainal Abidin had denied that Umno organised the rally, which halted traffic on the bridge and resulted in a reporter being pushed aggresively by a protester.

However, Umno's senator, Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, a former PKR Youth chief, had turned himself in to the police after the protest and was released hours later.

'Apologise to the reporter'

"Until today, Zainal Abdin still wants to deny the matter. Ezam was there, so was an ex-PKR member turned MCA person, Ng Lum Yong," said Lim, adding, "Zainal Abidin has no credibility whatsoever."

Lim also said Zainal Abidin should apologise for the rough treatment of the reporter during the protest.

"Why doesn't Umno take action against Ezam for causing disruption to public transport that day?" asked Lim, who is also Bagan MP.

"This dangerous escalation (of events) appears to be a trend (heading) towards political violence," he added.

Lim said many people became "envious, with hearts filled with violent emotions" when they saw all the good things that the Pakatan Rakyat government was doing for Penang.

On a related matter, Lim called on DAP leaders and members to stay calm amidst the recent twin attacks on the party's headquarters, which he described as "crude".

He added that he had spoken personally to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who gave his assurance that he had instructed the police to probe into the matter.

"As a mature political party, we will face this challenge with patience," Lim said. "We will not be cowed by any extremist elements."

A case of two burning issues in Penang