Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon has come under fire from DAP for blaming the opposition party's chairperson, Lim Kit Siang, for the United States' listing of Malaysia as a terrorist-risk state.

Calling Koh's remark "most outrageous, irresponsible and mindless", DAP publicity assistant secretary John Chung in a statement today demanded an apology from the minister.

"If Koh had any semblance of integrity and credibility left in him, he should issue a formal apology to the DAP," Chung said, adding that such distortion of truth should not be condoned of politicians.

Koh was quoted by the New Straits Times today as saying, "It is not our prime minister, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who should be faulted. It is the DAP consorting with PAS, which wants to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state, a la PAS."

Devoid of logic

Chung castigated the minister for apparently forgetting that it was the Islamic state issue that forced DAP to severe formal ties with PAS last year by leaving the opposition front Barisan Alternatif to which both parties belonged.

"This is not the first time Koh had made such an allegation totally devoid of logic against the DAP as he had previously also tried to make DAP the scapegoat for Mahathir's 929 Islamic state declaration."

On Sept 29 last year, one week after DAP pulled out of the BA and at the height of the Islamic state debate generated by PAS' insistence in establishing such a state should it come into power, Mahathir had shocked the nation with his announcement that Malaysia was already an Islamic state.