GEORGE TOWN, Feb. 29 -- The Penang Opposition leader's claim that the poor in Perikatan Nasional constituencies were being sidelined by Zakat Pulau Pinang (ZPP) was false and malicious, said Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohamad Abdul Hamid.

He also said Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff's remarks in a press conference yesterday criticising the state and ZPP for this was incendiary and provocative.

"Clearly, the Opposition leader is 'playing politics' by sowing doubt and hatred to distance zakat contributors from ZPP," he said in a statement issued today.

He accused Fauzi of attempting to sabotage the ZPP's work by claiming that the organisation had denied the rights of the poor and linking it to a direct order from him as the DCM.

"The distribut...