Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has strongly condemned as "criminal and barbaric" the act of a man hurling a package suspected of containing pork in a mosque in Penang yesterday.

Lim praised the Telaga Air Mosque in Butterworth for speedily detaining the suspect - believed to be in his 40s - at about 2am, before handing him over to the police.

"Firm action by the police must be taken against this man, believed to be suffering from mental problems, who showed disrespect for religion and threatened the religious harmony of the community," Lim said in a statement today.

He pointed out that this was the third incident this year where places of religious worship have been "desecrated and attacked".

Two other incidents involved a Siamese Buddhist temple in Tanah Liat, Bukit Mertajam and the Riverside Kaliamman Hindu Temple in Pokok Machang, Tasek Gelugor where deities were shattered.

Both incidents involved the same man - also suspected of having suffered from mental illness - who had merely been slapped with a RM3,000 fine .

"The people of Penang are mature enough to preserve racial and religious harmony and peace by ignoring and not being affected by the actions of these undesirable and destructive elements," said Lim, who is also the DAP secretary-general.

He gave assurances that his administration will work actively with all parties to ensure that these attacks will not undermine the unity and stability of the state's multi-religious and multi-racial community.

Such attacks on places of worship are not new to Penang, which has seen similar incidents last year where a homemade bomb was hurled into the compound of the 200-year-old Assumption Cathedral along Jalan Farquhar in January.

Around the same time, a piece of pork was also thrown into a mosque in Bukit Mertajam by an unidentified person. Police have yet to detain any suspects involved in the two incidents last year.