Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has revealed the alleged true character of Penang opposition leaders in their attempt to make him look as if he were anti-Malay by demolishing their houses and villages.

NONE Lim ( right ) described Umno leaders as ‘two-faced' politicians who appeared to be fighting for the rights of the Malay communities but in truth, they were ‘villains' masquerading as NGOs.

He claimed that the very same developer the leaders were supposed to be fighting, were linked to Umno itself - a fact unknown to many.

He referred to the case of Kampung Binjai in Bayan Lepas, where the villagers had recently been issued with eviction notices.

NONE "This is a classic case where the Umno leaders who raise these issues are villains and NGOs at the same time," he said in a 45- minute exclusive interview with Malaysiakini at his office on Tuesday.

"The developer is linked to Umno, which is behind it, and they are (pretending to be ) the saviors (of the soon to be evicted villagers themselves)," he said.

"This is hypocrisy at its height," he added.

Lim lamented that he was often made to look as if the Malays were angry with him because Umno leaders liked to capitalise on the issue of the illegal hawker stall demolishment which affected their livelihood.

Considerate when deciding on demolishment

"But go and ask them about it, go and talk to them and ask them who are the ones raising complaints about them... it is the Malay politicians themselves," said Lim.

NONE He said the state was considerate when deciding the location of demolishment as there were close to 30,000 illegal stalls in Penang.

"We take action only on those who are flagrant, serious and really causing nuisance to others," he explained.

"But we are made out to look as if we are taking action all the time, especially against the Malays. Only 18 percent of demolishment exercises affect the Malays.

"And who are the ones who complain against the Malays? It Is the Malays themselves," he stressed.

On the issue of vanishing Malay villages due to the eviction exercise in Jelutong, Lim acknowledged that they were a part of the state's heritage, and said he would try to resolve their issue soon.

"We have to get some funding for this. We have no federal funds so it has to come from us - we have to squeeze here and there (to help them). Luckily for me, I have some economics background so I am able to manoeuvre my way (to get some money for this)," he said.

NONE Later, Lim shared letters that he had received from people who were touched by the efforts of the state government to assist them in their woes.

"We have received letters from Malays saying they had never received a reply from the state government before, but recently, without even writing to the state about their problems, they had received letters of clarification," said Lim.

He related one of his visits to a Malay community recently, where a 70-year-old woman publicly expressed her ‘affection' for him.

"She was a 70-year-old grandmother who was toothless. When I told her she did not look 70, she was so happy she hit me on the arm.

"Others reproached her, saying she cannot slap a chief minister, but she replied ‘I know, but I just love him'.

"I guess I was in her good books because she laughed until we could only see her gums."

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