COMMENT | In his usual display of "ampu" (brown-nosing) to his boss, Penang Chief Minister II P Ramasamy has gone out of his way to defend DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who has not personally responded to my earlier statement about him posing barefooted in the house of the "Datuk Seri" who allegedly received RM19 million from the Penang undersea tunnel company to stop investigations into the Penang tunnel corruption.

Ramasamy even volunteered excuses for his boss by saying that even if Lim had taken a photograph with this individual some time back, it is uncertain whether he would know in detail about the individual.

More ridiculously, Ramasamy even added that "leaders of governments have the habit of posing for photographs with groups and individuals they hardly know well because they must be seen to be friendly", in his feeble attempt to deflect suspicions towards his boss.

However, the emergence of a second photo depicting a smiling Lim with the same MACC suspect seated at the back of someone's car would mean that Ramasamy now has to try harder to come out with more creative excuses for his CM.

Will Ramasamy now say that leaders of governments have to hop into luxury cars to pose for photographs with individuals they hardly know because they must be seen to be friendly?

With this latest photo, can Ramasamy continue to deny that his CM is not familiar with this suspect?

Based on information from people within the Indian community familiar with the suspect, I can now say with almost certainty that the first picture of Lim was taken at the lavish house of the suspect in Petaling Jaya, in July 2017.

Bear in mind that media reports had stated that the suspect had started receiving his RM19 million payment in a failed effort to stop MACC from investigating the Penang tunnel scandal, starting in July 2017.

Ramasamy should now be brave and encourage his boss to make police reports if the two photos are fake, or insist that his boss sue me if he believes I have slandered him.

Ramasamy should also hang his head in shame for defending his boss and his links to the MACC suspect, instead of questioning his own boss about his links to the MACC suspect and giving the public a more believable explanation.

It cannot be disputed that in recent years, Penang had taken the lead for money game scams in Malaysia. Numerous such scams have mushroomed in Penang in recent years.

No one - especially Ramasamy - should take offence if anyone wants the Penang CM to explain his relationship with the MACC suspect whom I had previously exposed to be behind a money game.

As the deputy chief minister II and a state exco member, Ramasamy should have joined me in questioning his CM's involvement, rather than offer cheap excuses and accuse me of seeking publicity when I had spoken up for the victims - especially those who believe the suspect had betrayed his own community.

Ramasamy should stop being an apologist for the CM.

S VELL PAARI is MIC treasurer-general.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.