GEORGE TOWN, Feb 23 ― Defending his administration’s removal of two lawmaker allies from their positions in Penang government-linked companies, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng asserted today that action was taken against PKR’s Ong Chin Wen and Cheah Kah Peng as they were the chief instigators against the state.

He added that the Pakatan Harapan state had not taken action against three other PKR assemblymen who had merely supported their party mates as they did not play prominent roles in the issue.

“After that, they justified and continue to attack the state government's position and stated their stand publicly while the other three were just abiding instructions given,” Lim told a news conference her, referring to Ong and Cheah.

Ong and Cheah were sacked from their positions in InvestPenang, Island Golf Properties Bhd and Penang Hill Corporation after they abstained from voting against a land reclamation motion proposed by political foe Umno last November.

The other three PKR assemblymen who had also abstained from voting were Batu Uban assemblyman Dr T. Jayabalan, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin and Machang Bubuk assemblyman Lee Khai Loon.

Lim branded the PKR men’s actions as an attempt to “backstab” their own government and likened the move by Ong and Cheah to similar action by former Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, which led subsequently to the latter’s removal from office.

He reminded PKR that DAP had supported its move to oust Khalid when the latter refused to abide by the decisions made with his own former party and questioned its ally’s response to a similar situation in Penang now.

“Why when two PKR assemblyman committed the same offence as Khalid, they are not reprimanded and instead we were asked to reinstate them?”

“The same situation applies for these two but apparently it was dealt with differently by PKR,” he said.

The DAP secretary-general insisted that the two were not sacked because they took a differing view from the state government.

He said the duo could have objected during the meeting and even raised it at the state legislative assembly before they took a sudden stand to oppose the state government.