Penang Island City Council Member Chris Lee Chun Kit claimed that fellow councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui had sounded off an editor of Buletin Mutiara (Buletin) in a condescending manner.
“To publish your letter under such circumstances would be publishing under duress.
“I know that Buletin does not and will not submit to threats from a bully, especially the director, Yap Lee Ying, who will stand up for her dignity.
“Furthermore, Buletin refuses to publish statements that misrepresent or do not address the issue raised by (state executive councillor) Jagdeep Singh Deo,” Lee said in a statement today.
Yap is the communications director under the Chief Minister’s Department, which oversees the publication of the Buletin.
Lim, who is Penang Forum steering committee member, claimed that Buletin “had not seen fit” to publish his reply to state executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo.
(The Forum, which comprises luminaries and academia from Penang, has been vocal on proposed developments in the state.)
Jagdeep, in the Aug 16-31 issue of the Buletin, had accused Lim of backstabbing the Penang Government over his letter to Unesco on the proposed development of a disused market outside the borders of the World Heritage Site in George Town.
Frustrated, Lim had then sent out a letter to all news outlets explaining the reason why he wrote the letter. He also expressed his dismay over Buletin’s refusal to publish his letter.
Meanwhile, Lee went on to pan Lim, saying Lim had “acted like a bully” towards the city council staff, behaving in a “harsh and disparaging manner.”
Lee reminded Lim to practise what he preached as Lim himself refused to clarify false reports which had painted the Penang Government in a bad light.
“Even though you never said it, you also said you would not clarify as this is not your mistake, but the mistake of the press that wrongly reported it.
“Clearly, there are double standards at play as you criticised Buletin but not Barisan Nasional media like The Star,” Lee said.
Lee went on to say Lim’s constant criticisms of the Penang Transport Master Plan was an act of sabotage.
Lee said instead of fighting people in the same league, Lim should channel his energy to fighting the BN Federal Government, which had suppressed and oppressed dissent.
“You (Lim) and your colleagues do know that you are playing right into the hands of BN, don’t you?
“The same BN which made Penang into a mess that we had to clean up from 2008?
“You should be standing with us in our effort to not only bring Penang forward, but to liberate the rest of Malaysia as well. Where were you when the real battles were fought?”
Under-siege Lim was under constant fire from the Penang Government following a letter he sent to Unesco, the UN agency which bestowed the World Heritage Site status on George Town.
Lim has been under fire for “acting unilaterally” by sending the letter to Unesco over concerns that a LRT terminus may be built at the disused market.
The Penang Government is very unhappy that Lim had not “copied” the letter to the Penang Government when he did so.
However, Lim claimed that in a four-eyed meeting with the state-run heritage site managers, a copy of the letter was made available to them.
Lim defended his penning of the letter as his right as a concerned Penangite, as allowed under the UN agency’s conventions.
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