A BN supporter who repeatedly heckled DAP candidates at a ceramah in Penang last night was forced to leave the venue after his identity was exposed and the police intervened.

The man, in an orange T-shirt and short pants, first stood up and shouted at the DAP's Seri Delima state seat candidate Tan Hun Wooi as he started on his speech.

"Why you speak in Mandarin? I don't understand, don't know how to speak Hokkien ?" the man asked loudly from among the 250-odd crowd that had turned up at a restaurant.

Hokkien

,a Chinese dialect, is widely spoken on the island. Tan had earlier apologised for his lack of fluency in that dialect.

When another speaker touched on Penang's traffic woes, the man again interrupted him.

"So what your DAP stand on the Penang Outer Ring Road? You for or against it?" he asked rudely, grabbing the attention of the audience again. The DAP opposes the project.

Police intervene

The man managed to get the goat of DAP Penang chief Chow Kon Yeow ( left ) who took over the microphone and identified the culprit as a BN supporter.

Chow claimed the man was a Gerakan member and the right-hand man of that party's state candidate who he named.

"You asked the same questions last night during the DAP first ceramah at the Cheah Association. Why you raise the same question now?

"We entertained your questions last night. But we must let you know that we have checked your background and know who you are," Chow said and the crowd booed the man.

Shortly after that, two policemen stationed at the ceramah approached the man, pulled him aside and advised him to behave himself.

The police also took down his personal details. The whole incident lasted about ten minutes.

The man later went back to his seat but left the ceramah soon after.

A police officer when met later declined to comment on the matter, saying police had to take steps to prevent untoward incidents.

Karpal's speech

Also present last night was DAP deputy chief and Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat candidate Karpal Singh.

The veteran politician arrived at 10.45pm to applause from the gathering.

His short speech touched on several issues, including the reason why the DAP joined the Barisan Alternatif in 1999 which was to "break the hegemony of BN at that time".

The party left the opposition front after crossing swords with former ally PAS over its intention to establish an Islamic state.

Karpal also urged the people to vote for DAP as most of its candidates were professionals and would be able to be the people's voice in parliament.

His special plea to voters was to return him and party national chairperson Lim Kit Siang to parliament as they were still young and capable enough to represent them.

Lim is vying for the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat.

Karpal also took a swipe at PAS president and parliamentary opposition leader Abdul Hadi Awang. He charged Hadi of not knowing much about parliament and the law but Lim was directly the opposite.

Both Lim and Karpal are lawyers by training.