MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek has alleged that the opposition is promising a Chinese menteri besar in Perak and has called it a "ploy" to win the community support.

Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia today reported Chua saying, "I have received information from reliable sources that the opposition are campaigning to the Chinese grassroots that the Chinese will be made 'taiko' (big brother) should the opposition rule Perak.

NONE"This is a big lie, because after the (last) general election, even though the opposition had won, the appointed menteri besar was not a Chinese, but was from PAS," he was quoted as saying.

He was speaking at Perak MCA’s Chinese New Year event yesterday, with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir in attendance.

In the article titled 'Opposition cheating the Chinese' and subtitled 'Setting up of Chinese government in Perak a lie', Chua was reported as saying that if the Chinese community voted for DAP, they were merely giving more strength to PAS and PKR to dominate the opposition.

"If we look at the 2008 general election, the DAP won 18 seats while PAS and PKR only had 11, but the 'taiko' in the state was PAS and not DAP," he said.

In an unrelated development, Sinar Harian today reported Johor PAS chief Mahfodz Mohamed saying the Islamic party has shortlisted a number of non-Muslims from its PAS Supporters Club as potential candidates for the forthcoming general election.

"A few names have been submitted to the central leadership to be chosen to contest under the PAS banner," he was quoted as saying.