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PUTRAJAYA (July 23, 2010) : Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should have solved the problem faced with state development officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus in a professional way.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Lim should handle the issue properly as head of government at state level and emulate the action of former CM Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.

(Chong Eu, Penang CM from 1969 until 1990, was one of the founder members of Gerakan which was an opposition party before the 1969 General Election.)

“He (Chong Eu) had worked closely with the federal government for the benefit of the rakyat. If there were any problems faced with the federal officers, he would deal with them or the agencies directly.

“He did not openly censure them or turn it into a polemic. Although he was a CM holding the ticket of an opposition, this kind of crisis never happened because if he were to criticise them, he would do it internally, during meetings or in person,” he said.

Asked on the action of Nik Ali in hitting back at Guan Eng, Koh said it was his reaction when he was blamed for things which were not under his control.

“In my opinion, it was a reaction, because two or three of the issues he was blamed for did not really come under his purview. But, after having explained it, there was a war of words,” he said.

Koh who was a former Penang CM himself was speaking to reporters after launching the fifth phase of PerlembagaanKu/MyConstitution campaign organised by Bar Council today (July 23).

He was asked to comment on the decision taken by the Penang state executive council meeting chaired by Guan Eng on Wednesday that Nik Ali’s services were no longer needed.

He had asked for Nik Ali to be sacked, accusing the federal officer of being “incompetent, unprofessional and a coward.”

Relations between the two were strained when Guan Eng repeatedly issued statements attacking Nik Ali over the illegal sand mining in Balik Pulau, the demolition of arches at the Penang Botanic Gardens and the allegation that no seat was provided for the CM during the launch of the Penang Hill Railway.

Koh who is also in charge of national unity was also asked about the latest development of the inter-religious committee chaired by former Kota Baru MP Datuk Ilani Isahak.

He said the committee members were still having discussions among themselves and there was no new development so far.

“We will let you know when they are ready to make any announcement. They are under discussions now, so leave it like that.

“Let them have a chance to discuss among themselves rather than bringing it up in the open. We don’t set a time frame because in such important matters, both sides must have patience,” he said.

The committee, set up to promote mutual understanding and harmony among religions, was responsible for finding solutions and a framework to provide interaction as well as prevent misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

It had its first meeting in April which was attended by representatives from the Islamic Development Department, Institute of Islamic Understanding, Allied Coordinating Committee for Islamic NGOs, Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) and other experts.