Slapped with three defamation suits by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Penang Gerakan acting Youth chief Jason Loo conceded he was "shaken" by them.

Loo said it appeared that Lim had forgotten about the freedom of speech, freedom of media and freedom of information that the DAP leader had long been championing.

"I always base my arguments on facts when I raise issues. I fight for a constructive check-and-balance (system)," Loo said in a statement.

A lawyer by profession, Loo has been very vocal on issues such as the controversial Penang undersea tunnel project and Peel Avenue land deal, of which the latter is the subject of three separate lawsuits filed by Lim against the 34-year-old leader.

"I studied law in the hope that everyone can be treated equally. Your (Lim’s) previous political movements had even reinforced my hope for equality," Loo said in an open letter to Lim.

He said he chose to join the BN - the opposition in Penang - as he believed that in a healthy democratic system and there is a need for the opposition to play its role in the political system.

Loo insisted that he raised issues about these controversial subjects for the sake of public interest.

"Even though I am facing the possibility of being made a bankrupt and disqualified from being a candidate for the coming election due to the legal summons from you, I will not be intimidated by such threats," Loo said.

"You can’t shut me up. I will continue to speak up for the people of Penang.

"Freedom of speech among the people is needed in Penang. Check and balance towards the state government is needed in Penang, without fear or favour," he stressed.

Also sued by Zenith

Loo had earlier goaded the Penang chief minister to sue him. Last October, Loo said he had yet to receive the lawsuit despite getting three legal notices from Lim.

"Is this an admission that the questions I have been asking the chief minister are not defamatory?" he had asked.

Other than the legal suits by Lim, Loo was also sued by the undersea tunnel contractor Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd in 2016, and case management for this suit is scheduled for October.

Zenith, too, has been under the spotlight since early this year when it became the focus of a major probe by the MACC.

Meanwhile, the two suits related to the sale of state land on Peel Avenue, where Penang Island Hospital Group intends to build an extension to its medical facility, are fixed for hearing this month.

Lim revealed last year that the land on Peel Avenue was sold to the private hospital for RM156 million without an open tender as it is considered a big foreign direct investment.

This prompted Loo to question if Lim had been operating on a "one-man show" mode, which the CM had strongly denied, and said such decisions were made by the state executive council.