Chinese language daily China Press (Penang branch) today took Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to task on the "illegal" parking of his car in a shopping mall.

 

China Press said the issue was not whether the photo was taken and uploaded by a pro-BN blog or not, but whether it was forged or authentic.

 

"The photo shows the fact that the chief minister's official car is parked within a yellow box with a "no parking" sign and he himself has confirmed that," said the newspaper in a statement.

 

"The Times Square management allowed the car to park in the area simply because the CM is the boss of the driver," it added.

 

"If not, would the management allow anyone simply to park the vehicle there? We can imagine," the newspaper said.

 

Lim had challenged China Press to state from where the newspaper obtained the photo, alleging it was from a pro-BN blog.

 

The photo was widely circulated in the social media, with some Facebook users offering to pay RM20 or more for it.

 

Lim also accused China Press of not daring to publish negative reports of BN leaders, including the expensive shopping habits of a dignitary’s wife.

 

He defended himself, saying the mall’s owner had offered his driver to park the car at the entrance of the building, which was confirmed by its management.

 

China Press said normally, the entrance of a mall is for customers and mobility-impaired people to use.

 

When the management gave the privilege to CM's driver, they should have considered whether it was suitable or not.

 

"If the CM rejected that offer and become a role model to instruct his driver not to park illegally in any circumstance, and only to pick him up at the entrance when he is coming out, then such a practice surely will become an example for the people to emulate," the China Press said.

 

It also disagreed with Lim's remark that there isn’t a problem if the owner of the building permits the parking, whether in the garden or garage.

 

The paper said such analogy is not proper as gardens and garages cannot be compared to a mall entrance, where people enter and exit, and is considered a public space.

 

Right of reply

On the right of reply, China Press recalled that when it had confirmed the authenticity of the photo, it had tried to contact Lim but failed to get a direct response from him.

 

"So we called his press secretary and we wrote her response in the news report," said China Press .

 

"We hope the CM can provide us the channel to contact him directly, so when he is criticised in future, we can contact him immediately and publish his response," the newspaper added.

 

China Press also refuted allegations that it dared not publish negative reports about BN leaders, including those living in luxury homes.

 

It said Lim was perhaps not aware of the matter as he only came to Penang in 2008 and did not know the kind of reports the newspaper published on the state.

 

When the DAP was still in the opposition, social activist Ong Boon Keong had released a compact disc about the luxury homes of BN officials, including former chief minister Koh Tsu Koon, his deputy and state executive officers.

 

"We had widely published the report in our local and national editions," China Press said.

 

"We welcome Lim's kind advice. If any Pakatan or a neutral blogger uploads negative news or photos about Penang BN, we will definitely report the matter once we confirm its authenticity, and with the accused's response," China Press added.

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