A Penang PKR leader has denied that Chief Minister Lim Guan  Eng overshadows Malay leaders in the state, leading to the decline in the community's support for Pakatan Rakyat.

Batu Maung assemblyperson Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said Malay leaders are involved in the policies and decision making of the state although Lim leads the team.

"We all have put in our effort," he told Malaysiakini , when contacted.

"The opposition (BN) may attack us, saying Malay leaders did nothing for the community but this is not true as we are working as a team," he added.

NONE Abdul Malik ( left ) said the team has so far "delivered and performed", and that is the most important thing.

Pakatan leaders do not service the people for "personal glory", they do so because it is their duty, he added.

He stressed that Pakatan, which booted out the BN in the March 2008 election, is represented by parties which are non-racial.

"So, you cannot use the same yardstick used on BN to judge us," he said.

Different umbrellas for different people

"BN's modus operandi is that Umno takes care of the Malays, MCA the Chinese, MIC Indians and Gerakan... don't know who they take care of," he quipped.

Abdul Malik, who is state exco for Muslim religious affairs, was responding to an analysis on declining Malay support for Pakatan published recently in a Chinese language daily.

Written by political analyst Wong Chin Huat, the article stated that Umno's attacks on the Pakatan leadership using the racial card was not the only reason for the Malays withdrawing their support from Pakatan.

It was also not due to lack of effort on the part of Lim, who is also DAP secretary general, in looking after the community's interests, he added.

NONE According to the communications lecturer, an assembly rep from Pakatan said the real issue is Lim's ( left ) dominant leadership - he takes centre stage in every issue, announcing policies as well taking it upon himself to respond to allegations.

Thus, he overshadows others in the state executive council, for example, Malay leaders like Deputy Chief Minister I and state PKR chief Mansor Othman, and Abdul Malik, said Wong.

On the ground VS in print

This in turn has stirred up anxiety among Pakatan's Malay supporters in Penang, since their leaders do not appear to doing enough for the community.

But Abdul Malik denied there was a visible drop in Malay support for the Pakatan, saying instead that the state government has provided help to all communities, especially the needy, irrespective of race.

On whether the coalition would be able to break the people's mindset that only Malay leaders can take care of their own, Abdul Malik said " insya Allah ... we already did that in March 2008".

"Now is up to Pakatan to prove the non-racial approach is workable," he said.

He pointed out that the Pakatan had done a whole lot more than the previous BN government, which is only full of rhetoric. "We want to perform and help the Malays as well," he added.

Meanwhile, Abdul Malik said that the BN-controlled media continues to attack Pakatan states although the coalition has brought change to the people, especially in Penang and Selangor.

Probably, only a small percentage of people, the Umno hardcore supporters, who are still blinded by statistics, he said.

"The problem is the media (some) refuses to carry our clarification on issues, and we had to use our own media mechanism like leafleting and the Internet to spread information and counter BN attacks."