The embattled Jawi assemblyperson Tan Beng Huat has vowed to file a defamation suit against New Straits Times over two articles that appeared in the English daily today.

Tan claimed that the news reports, 'DAP rep denies any wrongdoing' and 'Penang government faces expenses scandals' in NST today, touching on his quit notice to DAP leadership, contained defamatory elements to tarnish his image.

"After proper consideration, I have decided to sue the newspaper," he told a press conference at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's office in Komtar today.

Tan, 48, who joined DAP five years ago, had yesterday submitted an undated resignation letter to Lim, who is party secretary-general.

In the letter, the first-time elected representative said he would vacate his seat should he be found guilty in connection with an on-going graft probe on the matter.

His 'quit notice' sparked off rumours of another by-election in Penang - less than two weeks after the Penanti by-election on May 31.

NST - Never Speak the Truth

Nibong Tebal DAP divison chief Teh Hock Yong lodged a report a couple of months ago against Tan with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

He alleged that Tan had misappropriated RM2,000 of state allocation when purchasing a karaoke set for a Nibong Tebal-based ‘moral uplifting’ society, the Persatuan Amal Chin Chee Kok.

Tan denied Teh's allegation and accused his rival of cooking up a story merely to embarrass him and the Pakatan Rakyat government because of "political jealousy".

He countered that he had merely approved the allocation for the South Seberang Perai (SPS) district office to purchase a 39-inch television set, a DVD player and an air-conditioning unit.

"I did not touch a single sen of the allocation," he said.

MACC has recorded statements from both Teh and Tan, who is Jawi's DAP Taman Berjaya branch chief.

At the same press conference, the chief minister hinted that the state government was prepared to take on NST for frequently attacking his Pakatan Rakyat government unfairly .

"If you ( NST ) want a fight, let’s fight until the end. This is a struggle to defend the truth and justice," he said.

Lim has described NST as ‘Never Speak the Truth’, clearly in reference to the Umno-linked daily’s acronym.

Tan's decision to sue NST puzzled some reporters, who queried both Lim and the Jawi representative on which part of the new reports that had defamed Tan, given that other reports, both in print and portal media, were virtually similar.

To this, Lim indicated that the English daily had added 'a bit extra' in its article, without elaborating.

Lim's government has already banned NST from covering its official functions, claiming that the newspaper editors had denied the state the right to reply against an earlier alleged offending article.

Government launches own probe

The chief minister also said that an internal inquiry headed by state finance officer Farizan Darus was being conducted into Teh's allegation.

Since MACC has carted away certain relevant files to the case, Farizan's probe would be delayed because he would now have to obtain copies of the documents from the anti-graft agency to assist his investigation.

He is expected to submit a report on his findings to Lim in a week's time.

Lim applauded Tan's resignation as a commitment to uphold his government’s CAT motto - competency, accountability and transparency - and to take responsibility if he were to be found guilty.

Nonetheless, he stressed that the resignation does not mean that Tan would be let off the hook if he was found to have committed wrongdoing.

"Stern action will be taken on him," stressed Lim.

Lim however, refuted Teh's claim that the Nibong Tebal party chief had informed him and other party leaders on the issue before and after the graft report was lodged.

Teh has backed his claim with his mobile phone post-paid bills. However, Lim dismissed Teh's claim.

"He can repeatedly claim a thousand time that he had informed us. But this does not mean it’s true," said Lim.

He said Teh's phone bill would only show that both have communicated with each other, but it did not reveal the contents of their phone conversations.

"As a chief minister, it's normal for me to communicate with grassroots leaders," he said.

Although Teh's action to lodge a graft complain was against the party interests, Lim said the DAP leadership would not issue any show-cause letter or initiate disciplinary against the division chief.

"We don't want to be accused of taking action against someone who had reported a wrongdoing," he said.