He was responding to claims by Penang MCA chief Tan Teik Cheng that the Chinese in the state had been neglected by DAP after it came to power.
The chief minister however said Tan’s comments were not true as the DAP-led Penang government had helped everyone, regardless of race.
“It appears the current battle cry for MCA in Penang is that I have taken the Chinese votes but only helped the Malays. This is a racist game.
“Why must MCA and Gerakan play racist politics? It is deplorable to have these kind of games,” Lim told reporters at Mak Mandin here today.
Tan was quoted in a Sin Chew Daily report today as saying the Chinese in Penang were at the “losing end” as the Malays received most of the goodies from the state government.
He said Penang Malays received more state housing, the lion’s share of the state’s civil service jobs, funds for small-medium enterprises and a high allocation for Islamic development.
To justify his point, he said when Barisan Nasional governed Penang, the state government’s housing quota for Bumiputeras was 30%. Today, he said, the allocation had increased to 42%.
Tan added that the Chinese only made up a small number of Penang’s civil service.
He said from 2008 to 2014, out of the 8,346 jobs in the civil service, only 220 were for the Chinese.
Tan also said from 2008 to 2015, the state government had awarded 94% of small development projects to Malay companies.
He said from 2009 to 2014, the DAP government had given RM450 million to the state Islamic Development Council but when BN was in charge of the state, the council had only received RM12 million yearly.
Tan, when contacted by FMT, said he stood by his claims.