Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has expressed fear of speaking to journalists from the MCA-controlled English daily The Star.

"I am frightened to speak to The Star because they will twist what I say.

"After the last episode, we will only communicate in writing, so there will be no dispute - at least around this election period," Lim said after visiting the Thaipusam celebrations in Penang yesterday.

Lim said this new rule now applies to all questions from The Star, and will go on for at least a few months until the general election.

He told The Star reporter present at the site yesterday "you have twisted what I said (about Penang Run 2013), so I need to be careful".

"If I say things verbally, I cannot prove what I say; if written, you can't twist what I say. I won't speak to The Star because you have distorted what I said on the Penang Run," he added.

"This applies to all issues, starting from now on because you didn't even print what I said on the Penang Run. The Star has become a liar, unfortunately," he lamented.

Lim had earlier ticked the daily off for its front-page report on his Penang Run 2013 statement, describing it as "mischievous, irresponsible and incorrect".

Lim denied that he laid claim - as the report suggested - to the word ‘Penang' in all situations, saying that he was merely speaking about instances where the word was used on its own, giving the impression that the state was involved in the events.

But The Star went to town with the issue, quoting many leaders in BN and NGOs, who criticised Lim for wanting to monopolise the word.

Lim then issued a statement to clarify the matter, claiming that it was not carried by The Star .

Lim and the Penang Hindu Endowment Board, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, had quickly distanced themselves from the sports event, saying that the organisers - who included several Gerakan members - were "insensitive" for holding it on Thaipusam Day.

‘Unfriendly media'

The Star joins the rank of pro-Umno media - Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times and TV3 - who are considered "unfriendly" to Lim and the DAP.

They have been allowed to attend Lim's press conferences, but the DAP secretary-general has exercised caution in his comments during their presence.

Lim had sued Utusan Malaysia twice for defamation and have won in both cases, while the newspaper has been banned indefinitely from covering proceedings at the Penang state legislative assembly.

Meanwhile, Lim's media officer Heng Lee Lee, who had joined the Penang Run yesterday, took a swipe at the pro-BN media for "twisting" the alleged Pakatan Rakyat participation as they contradicted themselves, disproving claims that the event interrupted the Thaipusam festival.

"This is untrue as Penang PR state government leaders had neither called for a boycott for Penang Run, nor said that the event had disrupted Thaipusam Day celebrations," she said in a statement.

"The Penang government was speaking up for Hindus who felt slighted by the federal government for supporting the event held on Thaipusam Day," she added.

"However, no action was taken to stop the event or to prevent the runners from participating, even though the organisers refused to postpone it," she stressed.

Heng said there was no quarrel between the state government and the runners, which is why she participated in the pro-BN event with her regular group of runner friends.