A DAP parliamentarian today rebuked former Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon for calling on the current Pakatan Rakyat state government to stop politicking and start focusing on ruling the state.

DAP MP for Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Tong charged that Koh's criticism against the current Penang government was aimed at masking his own shortcomings when he was chief minister from 1990 to 2008.

"Koh criticisms against the current government are merely to avoid his legacies of lackadaisical rule from being questioned," he said in a statement today.

NONE During the Chinese New Year festive season, Koh ( left ), a minister in the prime minister's department in charge of unity and key performance Indicator (KPI), called on the Penang government led by Lim Guan Eng to stop politicking all the time.

He called on Lim to place emphasis on governing the state.

Liew claims that Koh's statement hid the undeniable fact the Pakatan state government was working hard to reverse the misrule and lackadaisical governance during his 18 years in office.

Tainted tenure of office

"Koh's government was tainted with politicking and bickering among the Barisan Nasional component parties in the state," slammed Liew.

He claimed that Koh ceded most of the authorities and prerogatives of his office to vested interest groups in pursuit of their private agenda at the expense of Penangites.

He alleged that several most disturbing land scams in the country's history happened during Koh's watch.

scah uuca talk 141205 liew chin tong There was very little discipline or a sense of purpose in the government or government-linked corporations during his tenure, he claimed.

He said the most telling of all about Koh's rule was the fading away of vision, hope and ambition for a better Penang.

Liew ( right ) said Lim's government had devoted the best part of its two-year-old rule to correcting past wrongs and preventing them from recurring.

He said Koh's apathetic legacies and Umno's constant racist politicking are indeed threatening the future of the island-state.

Liew said Lim's attempt to restore a sense of law and order in governance was being hampered by Umno's vested interest groups fanning racial hatred to stop Penang from progressing.