Penang Chief Minister II P Ramasamy today denied that DAP was behind the assault against a newsvendor, who had protested against the state government last month.

Speaking to Malaysiakini , the Batu Kawan parliamentarian said he was only aware of the allegation today from newspapers as he has just returned from the United Kingdom.

However, he described the accusation that the party had a hand in the attack on the man who last month allegedly torched and stomped on a poster of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as “utter rubbish” .

“To say DAP is involved is utter rubbish,” he said. “DAP is a party of integrity and we are the people fighting for the common man... so to say (that we are behind the attack) is ridiculous.”

Let the police investigate

Yesterday, 47-year-old newsvendor Krishna Nair claimed that he was attacked by a group of knife-wielding youths.

Also known as Mak Mandin Kumar, he sustained severe slash wounds and bruises on his thighs, back, head, hips and hands in the 10pm attack two days ago.

H e also claimed that he had received numerous mobile text messages from anonymous sources, including some threatening his life since the poster-burning incident during a Barisan Nasional Youth demonstration in Georgetown on Nov 30.

Soon after the alleged assault, Nair lodged a police report and named several politicians as possible suspects behind the assault.

He however did not divulge the names of the politicians.

Ramasamy declined to speculate on who could be the attackers as he “did not know what actually happened” in the incident.

“Let the police investigate the matter,” he stressed.