DAP has poured scorn on the appointment of Gerakan secretary general Teng Chang Yeow as Penang BN chief, dismissing him as "Umno's puppet".

NONE State DAP secretary Ng Wei Aik ( left ) said that Teng's appointment to the post is not Gerakan's choice but Umno's, who leads the BN coalition.

Ng said the situation had never happened before in BN or Gerakan as there is a precedent that the Gerakan chief would assume the post of state BN leader, even during the rule of former chief minister Lim Chong Eu.

"When Gerakan's secretary general is chosen as the state BN chief, it shows that he is the choice of Umno, and therefore, he is a puppet," Ng told a press conference today.

Prime Minister Najib Razak declared Teng as the new state BN head honcho while he was on a one-day working trip to Nibong Tebal and Penang.

The announcement came six months after Malaysiakini reported that Teng's appointment had been accepted by Najib.

The premier was supposed to have announced the appointment during a Chinese New Year do in Penang but somehow the plan to do so was shelved .

Speculation was rife that the delay was related to efforts by opposing quarters either to overturn or delay Teng's appointment, which Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon denied.

Ng said Penangites do not want another of "Umno's puppets" who would not assist in the state's development.

Koh, who was former Penang chief minister for 18 years, was labelled as "yes man" to Umno by his detractors.

Ng explained that if Teng was Gerakan's choice, the announcement of his appointment as state chief would not have been delayed for six months.

"Koh expressed his intention in November, so why was the announcement only made yesterday? If Gerakan's choice had Umno's blessing from the beginning, it would not have been delayed.

"We believe Teng's appointment was never confirmed until lately."

Padang Kota challenge

Meanwhile, the Komtar assemblyman challenged Teng to prove that he is not Umno's puppet by recontesting the Padang Kota state seat in the impending general election, the 13th in the nation's history.

"He has won three times in that constituency. We stress that he should return there as there is still support for him and there should not be any problems for him to recontest the seat.

"As state BN chief, he has the power and the advantage of choosing and determining where he wants to contest."

Ng then took out a newspaper cutting of Teng's speech on Mac 12, 2008 in Chinese daily Kwong Wah Jit Poh where he said "I would rise again where I had fallen. A soldier's body can die but not his spirit".

Ng said when he read Teng's quote he felt that the latter was "truly committed" to his former constituency. "That is why we are inviting Teng to stake his claim on Padang Kota.

"We in DAP are prepared and waiting. As the state BN's top leader, he should be brave enough to go for a risky seat," he stressed.