Although MCA president Chua Soi Lek and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng mostly refrained from taking cheap shots at each other during their public debate today, the same can't be said for their ardent supporters.

NONE At the sidelines of the heated match between Lim and Chua, verbal altercations between supporters of both parties had almost resulted in a brawl.

A group of some twenty men, who were among 400 MCA supporters, showed up clad in red T-shirts today, with the words "Xiao Hong" written on bandages on their foreheads.

The symbolism of this act is two-folds. Firstly, "Xiao Hong" or literally "Little red girl" in Chinese, is alleged the nickname of a former Penang civil service staff linked to Lim.

NONE Secondly, the bandages appears to be an attempt to mock Lim’s public appearance with a white bandage over his forehead on April 25 last year.

According to some pro-BN blogs, Lim was trying to cover up an injury that was caused by some domestic dispute. The bloggers have also linked this incident to the “Xiao Hong” affair.

The matter resurfaced again last week, when Lim’s wife Betty Chew, the Kota Laksamana assemblyperson, was quizzed on the alleged affair between her husband and the woman. during the Malacca legislative assembly sitting.

Chants of 'red' and 'CD'

Malacca MCA chief and Duyong assemblyperson Gan Tian Loo had asked Chew to reply to allegations that she had beaten up the woman because of the affair, who was then transfer out of the Penang chief minister's office.

The debaters, however, were cautious on mudslinging and kept mostly to the topic related to policies and administrative blueprints.

NONE Although Lim had made reference to BN leaders using dirty tactics to attack the Pakatan, he did not repeat his scathing remarks against MCA for harping on the alleged affair.

Meanwhile, Chua waded into topic when he lambasted the "hypocrisy" of Lim's administration, saying that the latter "threatens to sue" at the very mention of "a specific individuals name in Penang".

A boisterous group, which was seen cheering for Chua, at times sang songs in Chinese with reference to the colour red when Lim's spoke during the debate.

NONE At the end of the two-hour debate, as Chua and Lim were being ushered out of the venue, they were heard shouting "Xiao Hong", which infuriated DAP supporters.

An elderly man, in his sixties, had admonished the group and told them off for their snide remarks.

"Chua Soi Lek was taped on video. There is a CD going around. There is no such thing with Lim Guan Eng," he said to the group.

The retaliation irked the group which chanted even louder, arousing the attention from others who stepped in to stop the argument.

Additional reporting by S Pathmawathy .