DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has ticked off the cabinet and MCA for not being able to resolve the controversy from Umno's attacks against business tycoon Robert Kuok.

He said that the cabinet still does not have a clear stand on Kuok, but allowed Umno ministers to continue attacking the well-known sugar king.

Lim claimed that the issue had caused the Chinese community to be angry at BN and MCA, as the attacks were based on fake news.

The Penang chief minister added that MCA has not been able to get Umno to withdraw the remarks against Kuok, including the accusation of being unpatriotic.

Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz (photo) had described Kuok as a pondan (effeminate) and a coward for allegedly funding DAP. 

"Perhaps MCA is okay with fake news if it is about the DAP. BN and MCA have not been able to get Umno ministers – they are many of them – who attacked Kuok based on fake news to apologise to him," Lim said in Penang today.

"Why can't they do it? This shows that MCA is irrelevant and powerless in the cabinet."

Lim was responding to news reports in Chinese language media on heated exchanges between Umno ministers, such as Nazri, and their counterparts from MCA and Gerakan at the weekly cabinet meeting. 

The exchange was so intense that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak reportedly had to intervene.

'Kuok not the only victim'

It followed the recent attacks on the Hong Kong-based billionaire, after he was alleged to have funded DAP to topple Najib's government.

Kuok strongly denied the claim, while page 206 of his memoir states that he had in the past "willingly, happily and freely" donated funds to Umno and MCA.

"This makes me sad, as Kuok had never given any money to DAP and yet we were attacked.

"Kuok is not the only victim here, as DAP is also a victim, as we are attacked based on fake news," said Lim.