Umno information chief Annuar Musa is offering RM10,000 for the best essay or social media posting which can prove DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang is a "racist".

The social media posting or essay should be titled 'LKS is a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator of 51 years, is it true?' he told reporters during a press conference at the Parliament building.

"Work on them and send them in to the Umno information office.

"The reason for the competition would be to encourage people to carry out a research into allegations of Kit Siang being a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator," he said.

The Ketereh MP said this was in response to Kit Siang calling him the "father of racists".

Asked if he would initiate legal action, the Umno leader replied: “We are politicians, our best action is to make a political decision, and not resort to court action.”

Annuar last week incurred the wrath of DAP MP Lim Lip Eng when he criticised Kit Siang for having surpassed the likes of Phillipines' Ferdinand Marcos and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.

This prompted Lip Eng to launch a tirade against Annuar in the House, which the Segambut MP later retracted.

On the decision to restrict the media from the Parliament lobby, Annuar appeared sympathetic to journalists, stating that the restriction would make it difficult for them to "catch their victims".

He concurred that the existing media room was located far from the lobby and proposed that a portion of the lobby be made available to the press.

Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia imposed a ban on journalists in the lobby, claiming that they were harassing passing MPs with questions and "picnicking" at the venue while waiting for doorstops.