Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, said this when asked to comment on Tan’s recent comments that mostly-rural Balik Pulau in Penang had become “less green of late”.
Tan’s comments on Balik Pulau were posted on his Facebook page in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Jawi.
“Going round Penang Island today, we find the coast is changing and Balik Pulau is less green. The population of 850,000 require houses and employment. The priority is to preserve the forest and the green,” Tan said.
His Facebook post prompted a local MCA leader to call for the Penang government to respond to the issue.
Pressed for an answer, and asked if Tan had also discussed the issue with the state government and offered any solution, Lim said: “We have not been able to reach him since earlier this year. He has been incommunicado since early this year.
“We will deal with this internally and we do not want to comment further,” Lim said when asked about the surprising revelation that a senior DAP lawmaker had not been in contact with the party leadership for so many months.
FMT attempted to contact Tan for a comment but has yet to receive a response from him.
Meanwhile, Lim defended Penang’s green credentials, saying it had been stellar, with zero permanent forest reserves destroyed.