GEORGE TOWN: A newsletter with contributions from children is now thrust into the political limelight in Penang, caught in a battle between Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his Umno detractors.
The newsletter’s latest issue apparently has contents, which some quarters are alleging to be insulting to the Malays in Balik Pulau.
In yet another dose of race-laced issues to grip Penang, Lim is now demanding that Umno’s Pulau Betong assemblyman Mohamed Farid Saad apologise openly for claiming in a Malay vernacular newspaper report that the newsletter was sponsored by the state government and it helped distribute the publication.
Just last month, Lim’s political secretary Ng Wei Aik had apologised for being overzealous in helping the local council carry out an enforcement exercise on a roadside “nasi kandar” outlet.
At the root of this latest dispute is the newsletter’s informal, historical account of Malays in Balik Pulau, which Farid claims is insulting to the community’s history as it portrays them as backward and not being among the earliest settlers in the area.
The newsletter is published by a Penang-based non-governmental organisation called Arts-Ed (Arts in Education) which specialises in engaging children to be creative in arts and research work.
A spokesman for Arts-Ed has expressed shock that it is now dragged into a tiff between Lim and Farid and that the contributors who are children, are now dragged into a political discourse.
While Farid refuses to apologise, saying he has not done anything wrong nor was his press statements racial, Lim is now insisting that the former says sorry or be slapped with a libel suit for linking the present state government to the newsletter.
Yesterday, Lim instructed the state legal office to begin preparations to file a defamation suit [see video].
Talking point
The issue first emerged on the eve of Chinese New Year where most people here were preoccupied with the celebration and reunions.
Today, it has now become yet another talking point in the race or religious issues in Penang.
The row turned ugly when 14 copies of the newsletter were burned by a group of Malay rights NGOs.
A visibly upset Lim claimed Farid is the number one racist in Penang, saying his press statements have often dwelled on racism for the past three years.
He said the publication was sponsored by the now-defunct state tourism council under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“So, why blame the present government?”
Lim said the Pakatan Rakyat government does not discriminate, adding that its policy is based on performance and capabilities.
It also uses the slogan of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT) as the guiding principles in its governance of Penang, he added.
Quality jobs
However, a political observer here, Jason Gan, is questioning whether is it necessary for the two rival parties to continue harping on race and religion.
Both sides also cannot seem to provide a long-term solution to the impasse, to the discomfort of the electorate, Gan claimed.
He said the state government and the opposition must focus on issues close to the people such as addressing the rising costs of living, pollution and wooing meaningful investments.
The people here are asking where do all the foreign direct investments go in Penang as both the white and blue-collar workers continue to struggle with finding quality jobs which would enable them to cope with rising living costs, Gan said.
As the Lim-Farid spat continues, another issue which has crept up is the state government’s latest accusation that the federal government’s information division is not cooperating with the former in organising next week’s state-level Maulidur Rasul (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday) parade celebration here.
The conclusion is anyone’s guess, Gan said. - FMT
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