In a rare move today, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng refuted a news report which quoted Muhyiddin Yassin as asking him to allow Malays to do business in the state.

NONE Lim ( left ) said, to be fair to the deputy prime minister, he did not single out any race in his speech at the BN Chinese New Year Open house in Penang yesterday, as claimed by a Bernama report.

Lim said it appeared as if certain parties were trying to incite (racial sentiments) as Muhyiddin had included all races in his speech.

"He didn't single out any race... even the deputy prime minister's statement can be twisted.... this is really dangerous," Lim told a press conference today.

"I was there... we cannot rebut what is not there... do not put words into his (Muhyiddin's) mouth," he cautioned.

He then asked several reporters who attended the press conference to confirm what Muhyiddin had said during his speech, and all of them who were present at the event agreed that Muhyiddin had included all races in his talk.

Lim then warned those "certain quarters" that if they wanted to play politics, they should do so based on principles, and not descend to the gutter level.

He said this in response to a question on Muhyiddin's purported statement that "(If) a Malay does business, they have problems, give them an opportunity to do business, including anyone at all who want to earn a living by themselves".

penang bn cny open house 060211 Muhyiddin Yassin Muhyiddin ( right ) had also requested Lim to be fair to the people in the state, regardless of their race, by giving them opportunities to do business in the interest of the people's economic development.

 Two-page flyer

Meanwhile, Lim introduced a flyer titled ‘BN plays with racism... MCA condemns DAP for being anti-Chinese because it dishes out state government projects to the Malays", which is currently being distributed to the public.

The two-page flyer is a response to a statement by Selangor MCA deputy treasurer Lee Ban Seng, who asked Lim and all Pakatan Rakyat leaders to explain why 100 percent of the projects under the Irrigation and Drainage Department were given to Malay contractors.

Lee accused the Penang government of wanting to win the favour of the bumiputera community, and expressed doubt that the state did indeed practise the open tender system in all areas.

"If the state government implemented the open tender system fairly and transparently, it is impossible that none of the non-Malay contractors obtained any contracts during these two years in the whole of Penang," said Lee.

"Does this mean that contractors from other ethnic communities are not capable and have no quality to obtain the projects?" he asked.

The flyer, targeting Lee's comment, lashes out at MCA for not kicking up a fuss when "Umno contractors" obtained contracts from the state.

"Only when Malay contractors obtain contracts, MCA makes a lot of noise," the flyer says.

"This is prove that the MCA is anti-Malay... BN is dangerous for playing with racial sentiments for the sake of power," it adds.

Lim said the tender system was introduced to encourage transparency, reduce wastage and fight corruption and save expenses for the state.

The open tender system was practised as the state considered the ability of the people, regardless of race or social background.

"The system has managed to show that Malay contractors are at par with others," he said.

"The only ones who do not want to raise the standard of the people are Umno and BN... and those who cannot compete are the Umno contractors who have to rely on political cables in Umno and live as crony contractors," Lim added.