He noted that several dailies had chosen to give Penang’s budget announcement little or no coverage at all, compared with the budgets of other states.

Singling out Sin Chew Daily, Lim said it was appalling that the daily had published a sketchy report on the Budget, despite Penang announcing a RM220 million allocation for flood mitigation, the highest in the history of the state.

“Usually, when the prime minister announces the Budget, the press obligingly reports it as it is important.

“But I see in Sin Chew that it does not care about our Budget, but (it seems to care) about other matters. Maybe they feel there is no need to report state government matters.

“Yes, I know it is the right of Sin Chew Jit Poh to choose to report more on our opposition. But forgoing a statement of the chief minister is unacceptable,” Lim said in a press conference in Komtar today.

Sin Chew yesterday carried a half page story on the state Legislative Assembly sitting, but gave scant information on the tabled Budget 2017.

Lim said he was also upset with Sin Chew’s lack of reportage on the sale of the state government’s shares in Jerejak Island from the perspective of his administration.

Lim said he had written to the chief editor of the Chinese daily to ask why his statement on the Jerejak Island issue was not published, but had not received a reply.

“If this were The Star or New Straits Times or other BN media outlets, then it is understandable. But it looks like Sin Chew is also headed in the same direction. It is disappointing.

“But I will leave it to the general public to evaluate if Sin Chew’s is a one-sided stance against the state government,” he said.

Sin Chew’s Penang bureau, when contacted, refused to comment.