An Utusan Malaysia journalist was told by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to leave a press conference today on grounds that the state's Pakatan Rakyat has a pending civil suit case against the Umno-controlled Malay daily.

The justification was used by Lim to bar Penang Utusan assistant bureau chief Haszrul Mohamed from attending the press-meet following the swearing-in ceremony of new Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) president Mokhtar Mohd Jait in Bukit Mertajam.

lim guan eng angry with utusan malaysia headline dap hina islam parliament pc 240209 After an initial reluctance, Haszrul said "thank you very much" and left the room, allowing the press conference to begin.

When asked by reporters later, Lim (right) indicated that he had to ask Haszrul to leave since it was Pakatan policy to ban Utusan from attending the coalition's functions.

Later, Haszrul told reporters that the Chief Minister's order was unfair and against the spirit of press freedom advocated by Pakatan. "They claim to champion the freedom of press.

"But truth is they only want press that favours them," accused Haszrul, 43, indicating that Utusan had been a hostile daily against the Pakatan governments.

Not in good terms with NST

Besides Utusan , Lim's state government has strained relationship with English daily, the New Straits Times , for denying him the ‘right to reply' over an alleged offensive article against the Pakatan government published a few months ago.

Lim's government running feud with Utusan began when he accused the Malay daily of manipulating his election victory speech last year on the New Economic Policy.

Lim blamed the Utusan -manipulated article of triggering an Umno-sponsored volatile street protest outside Komtar against his then a week-old fledgling government.

majlis perbendaharan seberang jaya mpsp pkr walkout 040609 utusan hazrul mohamed Haszrul ( right ), who could not come to terms with her eviction, said she attended the press conference to carry out coverage on MPSP, not the Pakatan state government.

"If it was in Komtar, I would accept it. But this is MPSP office and its council's function.

"I don't understand why Utusan should be banned," she said.

For the past few days, Utusan has been under attack for publishing an article containing racial slur against the non-Malays in the country.

MIC president S Samy Vellu called on the government to charge the writer of the article, Awang Selamat, under the Sedition Act, while former federal minister Zaid Ibrahim blasted the daily for being removed from reality.

Even deputy premier Muhyiddin Yassin ticked off Utusan for its racial slur.