Cheah said he neither had any knowledge nor link to those behind the banners and said it could be the work of agent provocateurs.

“Whatever it is, Parti Keadilan Rakyat has moved forward for the sake of public interest,” said the PKR man.

Cheah said PKR would not want to be dragged into petty politics as the party had “real” issues to deal with, such as corruption, cronyism, autocracy, mismanagement and environment.

“The banners are just a distraction,” he said in a text message.

Cheah, along with another PKR assemblyman, Ong Chin Wen, were removed from their directors’ positions in Penang GLCs last month, after the duo abstained from voting against a motion by state BN on land reclamation projects, at the state assembly sitting last November.

Earlier this week, banners featuring the faces of Lim, Ong and Cheah appeared at several locations in Penang. The banners had messages saying that the duo should not have been sacked by Lim.

State PKR chief Mansor Othman has also denied that his party members were responsible for the banners.