A living iguana in a bag with a heart-shaped note that said “LGE” was left at the third floor of the entrance to the lifts of the state government offices in Komtar yesterday.

LGE are the initials for Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was not at all amused at the prank played by some unidentified persons.

Two other bags, with a piglet and a duck in them, were also left at the same location, which brought the police in for fear of a bomb scare.

NONE At a press conference in Komtar today, Lim ( left ) lambasted the people behind the prank for wanting to paralyse the work of the state government, which has been running smoothly and effectively so far.

Lim, DAP’s national secretary-general, added that this was a malicious and irresponsible act by certain individuals, and it was obvious that they had planned to inconvenience the public.

“There are proper channels for these people to voice their opinions, but maybe they are now bankrupt of ideas,” he told reporters in Penang today.

“They want to shame and instill fear in the state government by threatening us with bombs... this is the work of extremists and terrorists,” added the Bagan MP.

“This act appears to be similar to the ones we find of those who protested violently in front of Komtar recently, who hit reporters and caused a traffic jam at the Penang bridge,” he stressed.

However, Lim said the efforts of this group to intimidate the state government would remain futile.

It would not jeopardise the commitment of the state government to administer Penang effectively, he added.

SMS death threat

Lim also lamented about an SMS he received on July 9, threatening his life. The text read as follows:

Hoi baruah guan eng. Lu sudah bikin melayu kecoh sana KL. Lu siap. Sekarang kita kasi lu susah sana penang. Lu tunggu kita mari

(Hey bastard guan eng. you have created chaos among the malays in KL. be prepared. now we will bring you problems in penang. you wait for us to come)

Lim said when he received the sms, he was not overly concerned about it.

“I have asked my political secretary to pass the message and information to the police,” he said.

“Let the rakyat judge the behaviour of these people,” he added.

After 4pm yesterday, police evacuated the third floor in Komtar and found three bags with the animals.

The bags - red, black and blue - were found at the entrance of the lifts leading to the state government offices, including the chief minister’s office.

Security guards are normally stationed there to check on those who enter the area.

Penang police chief Ayub Yaakob expressed his dissatisfaction at the prank, vowing to take stern action on the culprits.

"This is the work of mad people. We will investigate. This is irresponsible and can bring about a serious situation.

"I warn everyone, don’t play the fool. This is too much," he said when contacted.

State secretary slams 'animals in bags' pranksters