Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was so furious with a news report linking the DAP to the illusive ‘Red Bean Army’ that he said he was in no mood to field questions from reporters.

NONE "Ask me the questions tomorrow (today)," he said, looking upset as he left the press conference held at his office in Komtar yesterday.

During the session, Lim had condemned Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia for “politicising investment” when it tried to link Phison Electronics Corporation chief executive Pua Khein Seng - popularly known as the 'father of the Pendrive' - to a set of mysterious cybertroopers.

" Utusan is playing a dangerous game of playing with fire. After DAP, they are now criticising investors, they should not politicise investment," Lim said.

He was referring to the daily’s news report on Saturday, headlined ‘Penglibatan syarikat elektronik Taiwan disiasat’ (Involvement of Taiwanese electronics company probed).

The Malaysian CEO of the Taiwanese company was alleged to have funded the purported group of cybertroopers, said to be planning to topple the federal government although no evidence of this has been forthcoming.

pua khein seng interview 030513 1 Pua (right) has vehemently denied the claims and threatened to initiate legal action against Utusan for the "baseless and malicious allegations" and a "fabricated report".

He also urged the authorities to contact him immediately, so that the truth can be revealed, saying he would give full cooperation.

Allegations surrounding the ‘Red Bean Army’ had surfaced following the 13th general election concluded on May 5.

It was claimed that DAP has a stable of 200 paid cybertroopers , dubbed the ‘Red Bean Army’, which has demonised BN over the past six years.

Utusan’s motives questioned

Lim said that, while the Penang government makes a strong effort to attract investment, including those from foreign countries, the federal government does not seem to value this.

"The (federal) government seem to value racists more than investors by allowing newspapers like Utusan to play racist games that will eventually affect investment in the country," said Lim.

NONE "The inventor involved has denied the claims, so have PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and I. We do not know of any ‘Red Bean Army’ and we do not have the funds to give to any organisation.”

Lim said Malaysia should be celebrating Pua who, with his own knowledge and expertise, has achieved success without anyone’s help.

" Utusan wants to make enemies of all races, and now they have extend themselves to other countries, even those in Taiwan cannot escape their clutches.

"Are you trying to drive away investors by making these allegations?" he asked Utusan .