In the spirit of the Ramadan month, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he is ready to "forgive" New Straits Times (NST) and Utusan Malaysia for their past actions - on the condition that they grant him the right of reply in future.

This would also clear up relations between the two publications and the Penang state administration, said Lim, who added that the two mainstream newspapers typically spun his speeches negatively, without giving him the right of reply.

"If Utusan and NST give me the right of reply, I am willing to forgive them and invite them again to my press conferences.

lim guan eng angry with utusan malaysia headline dap hina islam parliament pc 240209 "Usually, they do stories on my press conferences, but they ‘twist' and fail to publish what I actually say," Lim said at a DAP buka puasa function with members of the media in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

On June 28, Lim filed lawsuits against Utusan and NST for publishing accusations about him with verifying them.

BN critics also frequently criticise the Penang government of not upholding to the spirit of press freedom by banning Utusan and NST from attending Lim's events.

However, Lim, in his speech last night retorted that freedom of the press should not be used to spread libel and unfounded accusations.

Pakatan leaders too denied right of reply

"I feel that this is not freedom of press. Freedom of press constitutes the right of both parties to state their sides, not to spread libel and lies. This right is not denied only to me, but also to Pakatan leaders.

"We can ‘normalise' our relationship, in the spirit of Ramadan... I don't know if they ( Utusan and NST) have the Ramadan spirit," he said.

Lim has won two suits against Utusan , most recently on June 22, when the High Court ordered Utusan to pay RM200,000 in damages for defamation.

Lim filed a libel suit against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd for publishing an article titled ‘No more NEP' on March 12, 2008.

On Jan 11, 2009, Lim explained that he had never said that his administration would ‘abolish' NEP, as Utusan Malaysia had reported.

Lim stressed what he said was that the state government would govern Penang free from an NEP that bred "cronyism, bribery and systematic inefficiency".

The Utusan report sparked a protest against Lim on March 14 that year, with some 1,000 people gathering in front of the Komtar building after Friday prayers to protest against Lim.