Penang Gerakan Youth wants state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow to be referred to the State Legislative Assembly's rights and special privileges committee.

Its assistant secretary Loh Kit Mun today accused Chow of allegedly "misleading" the House in the November sitting.

He claimed that the DAP state chief had not given the actual information when replying to written questions from Sungei Acheh assemblyperson Mahmud Zakaria regarding the number of prewar houses sold to foreigners.

In the May 2016 state legislative assembly sitting, Chow had claimed that 18 houses in the city's heritage zone were bought by foreigners, while there were 2,104 units in the heritage zone.

In the November sitting, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said 61 prewar houses were sold to foreign companies or individuals since 2008.

He added that the units were from Section 18 to 24 which covered the core and buffer zones.

In a media statement issued on Dec 16, Chow said that the differences in the figures given by him and Lim were due to two different questions.

He pointed out that his answer to Sungei Acheh's question was only focused on Section 23 in the heritage zone.

Chow said the chief minister’s answer to Telok Ayer Tawar assemblyperson Jahara Hamid covered seven sections ranging from Section 18 to Section 24 in both buffer and core zones.

But Mahmud's query was on prewar houses sold to foreigners and not on houses on Section 23 in the heritage zone, Loh reminded Chow, who is Padang Kota assemblyperson.

"I would like to request the press to be the witness for Penangites. Was Mahmud asking for the number of houses sold to foreigners in the heritage zone or Section 23 in the heritage zone? It is very obvious that Chow was not giving the actual data in the state assembly seating.

"Why deceive Penangites with misleading data?" Loh asked.

How many more sold to foreigners?

Loh said Chow allegedly tried to portray to the Penangites and the assembly that in the heritage zone only 18 houses had been sold to foreigners.

He said Chow did not specify that the 18 houses were only in Section 23 of the heritage zone.

"From my understanding, Chow can be referred to the rights and special privileges committee for misleading the House. How many more houses which had been bought by foreigners yet to be disclosed by the state government?"

Loh asked if "lying and deceiving" were part of a criteria to be the next chief minister of Penang.

Lim had previously asked the DAP to endorse Chow as the next CM if he gets convicted of the two graft charges related to his purchase of a bungalow on Jalan Pinhorn.

"I urge all the Penang state assemblypersons to move a motion against the future chief minister for providing misleading data in the House because you are supposed to be the representative of Penangites to provide check and balance in the House," Loh said.