The Penang municipal council has joined the fray to condemn state development officer Nik Ali Mat Yunus for allegedly being ‘disloyal’ to the state government in general, and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, in particular.

Iszuree Ibrahim, a MPPP councillor, said Nik Ali was ‘playing a game’ with the state government instead of being loyal to the state authority which he is working with.

NONE "He should not be an instigator between the state and federal government. He should be loyal to the state no matter who is running it," he said.

"He should not also be used as a political tool to create problems for the state on purpose and sabotaging whatever good efforts by the state," he said at a press conference at Umno’s state headquarters in Penang today.

The feud between Lim ( right ) and Nik Ali worsened yesterday when the latter called the chief minister ‘rude’ for criticizing him in public.

The duo have been battling several issues which include alleged sand theft in Balik Pulau and losses to be incurred in demolishing the arches at the Penang Botanical Gardens, which amount to a whopping RM150,000.

‘Would have been suspended’

Iszuree said Nik Ali’s "political allegiance is clear for everyone to see".

"Government staff should not be involved in any dispute with the state. He should answer the CM’s question one by one and be done with it," he said.

NONE "It is so obvious now who his political masters are, and they are the opposition (BN, Umno). It seems the CM was right to castigate him, calling him ‘little Napolean’ and so on, because it seems this guy is playing games with the state," he thundered.

Komtar assemblyperson Ng Wei Aik, meawhile, rapped Penang Umno deputy chief Zainal Abidin Osman for defending Nik Ali ( left ) in the latter’s verbal war with Lim.

"Is this the right kind of behavior for Umno and BN leaders? They have incited a civil servant to go to war with a government that was given a mandate by 1.6 million people to rule Penang," he said.

"If Nik Ali had done this to chief ministers under BN or Umno, I am sure he would have been suspended from his job immediately."

A ‘big’ Napolean

Ng ( below, right ), who is DAP Socialist Youth secretary, said Nik Ali has lost his professionalism in the eyes of Penang and should be transferred by the Public Services Department.

NONE "Penangites do not appreciate that Nik Ali is acting like an Umno and BN stooge," he added.

Kebun Bunga (PKR) assembly person Jason Ong questioned whether Nik Ali was willing to label any of his political masters biadap (rude).

Ong said Nik Ali had shown disrespect to the CM who represented Penangites and had the right to question Nik Ali about his job.

"I dare him to question his masters in Umno or BN. Why can’t he be criticised for not doing his job well?" asked Ong.

Ong said Nik Ali has proven himself to be a ‘big Napolean’ and that he dared go against the chief minister due to the support he received from Umno.

Umno defends Nik

State Umno deputy chairperson Zainal Abidin Osman, however, defended Nik Ali for being a dedicated officer who worked seven days a week.

He criticised Lim for tarnishing Nik Ali's reputation publicly while at the same time tainting the chief minister's office by getting into a tussle with a civil servant.

He said Lim should have consulted Nik Aziz's boss, Public Services Department Director-General Abu Bakar Abdullah.

"There are bound to be disagreements between state and federal policies but such things are solved internally," he told reporters in Penang.

"Instead Lim chose to politicise the matter by using the media to condemn Nik Ali not once but several times," he said.