Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has snubbed an invitation to hold a dialogue with the Penang BN Youth leaders, saying he rather prefer to see them in court.

"He will prove in court that he is not corrupt, that he did not receive RM40 million in donations and has not accumulated extraordinary wealth worth hundreds of millions of ringgit," Lim's special legal officer Andrew Yong said in a statement today.

NONE Yong said state Umno Youth chief Shaik Hussein Mydin ( right ) and Gerakan should publicly reveal any evidence of corruption against Lim to back up their "baseless claims".

Shaik Hussein was quoted in a Malaysiakini report on Oct 5 as saying that Lim had received money from the Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre (KLIDC) fto build a private hospital in Penang.

KLIDC had won the bid to develop a plot of land in Taman Manggis, along Jalan Zainal Abidin, for a medical centre but BN leaders are fighting for the same plot to build public housing.

Two days later, Lim demanded an apology and retraction from Shaik Hussein within 24 hours, but the state Umno Youth leader is yet to do so.

Liow also got money from KLIDC?

Yesterday, Shaik Hussein gave Lim seven days to respond to the demand for a public dialogue with him and state Gerakan deputy Youth chief H'ng Khoon Leng - who has also received a legal notice from the CM on the corruption allegations.

Yong said Shaik Hussein and H'ng should prove their case in court, when Lim sues them for their defamatory statements intended to damage his public image and political career.

mca youth agm 201012 liow tiong lai pc 02 "Neither Shaik Hussein nor Gerakan have so far shown any proof to back their baseless allegations that KLIDC offered money to help secure the tender award for the 1.1-acre land in Taman Manggis for its private hospital," Yong said.

"It was Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai ( left ) himself who announced that KLIDC has finally obtained a licence to operate a private hospital in Penang," he added.

"Are Umno Youth and Gerakan also implying that Liow too must have received money from KLIDC?" Yong asked.

He also said Shaik Hussein had, by issuing the invitation to the public dialogue, shown that he was afraid to go to court because he had no proof of any corrupt acts on the part of the CM.

Yong also claimed that Shaik Hussein was not the sort to apologise if he were wrong.

“Shaik failed to apologise as promised for his false claim that the chief minister, at a Penang DAP dinner in March this year, did not mention he required support from the Indian community,” said Yong.

“When a video of the chief minister’s speech clearly showed that he had asked for Indian support, Shaik refused to apologise even though he was caught red-handed telling a lie.”

"Freedom of speech and freedom of the press do not give any person the right to lie or make false and defamatory statements," Yong added.