GEORGE TOWN: Penang MCA has urged Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to stop defending Sungai Pinang DAP assemblyman Lim Siew Khim over the alleged corruption involving her father.

“Siew Khim, as an assemblyman, should not be allowed to get away with this regardless of whether she was aware of the issue or not,” said Penang MCA deputy chairman Tan Teik Cheng.

“Instead of Guan Eng saying that he believes Siew Khim has not violated any laws, let their party’s disciplinary committee reveal the truth,’’ he added.

Siew Khim, a first-term assemblyman, is embroiled in controversy after a video clip, which purportedly showed her father Lim Keat Seong soliciting bribes to help obtain low-cost housing units in Penang from as early as June 2015 went viral on Aug 28 on social media.

In a press statement yesterday, Tan said that Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general, and Siew Khim issued contradictory comments and when new evidence (via a second video) surfaced, they were quick to issue statements to justify their previous stand.

“Their attitude shows a lack of honesty and sincerity,” he added.

Tan said since the videos’ revelations, Penangites could see how the Penang government adopts a uniformed approach while dealing with negative issues related to them, which is to frame the incident as insignificant or to put the blame on the Barisan government.

“This is a total betrayal of the state’s ‘Competent, Accountable and Transparent’ (CAT) policy.”

Siew Khim had initially denied knowledge of the matter but then “clarified” on Saturday that she did receive a call from a youth leader of another political party some time last year regarding the issue. She said her father denied any involvement when she confronted him.

She made the clarification after a second video clip surfaced, which showed a screen-grab of a WhatsApp conversation between a mediator and a victim.

-The STAR-