Speaking to FMT, Chong said Lim was making baseless accusations against him.
“He is trying to politicise everything. He is always seeking cheap publicity.
“I have had enough of him. I am not interested in responding. I have more important things to do, like serving the rakyat,” he said when contacted by FMT.
The dispute came about after Lim was denied entry to SJK(C) Kampung Sungai Lembu in Bukit Mertajam.
Lim said he had wanted to inspect the school before giving cash aid to the administrators.
After being told by the school’s administrators that he needed approval for the visit, he wrote to the state education department, which replied asking him to get permission from Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid.
However, Lim pointed out that Permatang Pauh Umno chief Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said was allowed to enter the school without permission and he (Lim) questioned the restrictions placed on him.
On Monday, Chong said Lim should know “why he faced problems” entering schools, adding that the chief minister had used school events to “speak about politics and criticise the federal government”.
“He has hurled baseless allegations, especially against the education ministry. The state education department merely wanted to prevent the school from being used for a political attack.
“Lim has also politicised the Penang state government’s allocations to schools, turning it into a platform to bluntly attack us,” Chong said in a report in The Star Online.
Lim then responded, telling a news conference at Komtar yesterday that he had merely called for more funds for Chinese schools, not the “meagre and miserly sum” of RM50 million for 1,300 schools as announced by the federal government.
“If the deputy minister thinks a mere appeal for more funds is politics… what else can I say?
“I feel the deputy minister is clearly trying to cover up for his failure in giving adequate funding to Chinese-type schools. That is why he is afraid of me entering a Chinese school.
“He does not want me to give any donation or allocation to the school. This kind of cowardice is very much regretted. At the same time, to politicise this issue, he does not deserve to be a minister,” Lim said.
Guan Eng: Is asking for more funds for Chinese schools talking politics?