The group’s supporters, which grew to about 20 people by 2.30pm, chastised Lim for not living up to his party’s oft-chanted moral values.

Protesters carried placards that read “No to corrupt bungalow, please resign!”; “Lim Guan Eng, where is your cat? Cat is dead?”; and “No more hypocrisy! LGExit!”

The protesters gathered in front of state government offices and dispersed after a peaceful 20-minute protest.

Led by Ahmad Yakqub Nazri, a 34-year-old local businessman who described himself as no more than a “rakyat biasa” (regular citizen) with no political links, the group said Lim must step down to preserve the integrity of the Penang Government.

Yakqub mocked the state’s slogan of Competent, Accountable and Transparent (CAT), and equated it to Indian food, saying, “CAT no longer means what it means… it now means chapati (leavened bread), appam (rice pancake) and thosai (thin rice and lentil crepes).

“The Penang Government is talam dua muka (double-faced). It allows its CM to live in a RM2 million bungalow.

“While regular Malay, Chinese and Indian folks have to toil and suffer, Lim and his state executive councillors live in grand houses,” he told reporters after the protest.

Yakqub also called Lim “bodoh, sombong dan perasuah” (stupid, arrogant and corrupt) for plotting a state election to hang on to power.

“He (Lim) has the gall to call for elections to show he has support. Ladies and gentlemen, please do not be confused… CM does not want to lose power, that is all,” Yakqub said.

Lim has pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of power by using his position to purchase a bungalow below market value. He also pleaded not guilty to a charge of re-zoning agricultural land to benefit his former landlord’s company.

Lim has said that on the contrary, the purchase of his bungalow was an “above-board, arm’s length” transaction without any favour in return. He is currently out on RM1 million bail pending a case management court date on Sept 22.