The fact that attorney-general (AG) Mohamed Apandi Ali himself is leading the prosecution against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng raises questions of a political motive behind the case, said a DAP leader.

"The case has drawn national attention when we see the AG himself heading the prosecution team.

"This is highly unusual for an AG. Therefore the people would question the motive behind the charge.

"This is even more unusual when it's as if the chief minister is a huge criminal that needs to be stopped, including his duties as a chief minister," Johor DAP publicity secretary Wong Shu Qi said in a statement yesterday.

"Despite this, although efforts to kill off and shame Guan Eng is being carried out in a fully planned manner, all the people have risen to state their solidarity and undivided support for Lim's leadership," said the Senai assemblyperson.

In comparison, said Wong, the AG has failed to bring any case to court over the Prime Minister Najib Razak and 1MDB scandals.

"Instead, he has behaved as judge to clear Najib by saying there is no case in the issue of 1MDB," she said.

"The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is seen as powerless to do anything in view of the power to prosecute being fully in the AG's hands.

"Such are the deficiencies in the law that allow selective prosecution in Malaysia," she said.

'Defending rakyat, Penang gov't'

Yesterday at least 3,000 Penang residents marched through George Town to show support for the embattled chief minister.

Days earlier, supporters rallied around Lim by contributing to his RM1 million bail money, hitting its target in under 24 hours.

BN leaders subsequently accused DAP of exploiting the public for their party concerns.

Meanwhile Umno owned daily Utusan Malaysia online reported yesterday's rally as Lum "starting to use street protests ... to draw sympathy".

Wong however said DAP will "respect the rule of law" and intends to fight this selective persecution through the courts and the legal process.

She added the charges against Lim, for alleged graft in relation to the purchase of his bungalow in Penang and in the approving the rezoning of a piece of agricultural land, is "just another chapter of conspiracy and dirty politics, aimed at killing off (Lim's) political career".

Lim, she said, is not only defending himself, but the people's cause particularly in Penang, "which has been ruled transparently and fairly since 2008".

She added DAP Johor stands firm behind Lim to ensure that justice prevails.

In March, Lim expressed puzzlement that the Penang MACC said it had been investigating allegations over the rental of his bungalow since 2009 but he had not been informed of the matter.

In May, Apandi denied the Penang police chief's statement that there was "no further action" on the probe into Lim's seller's statutory declaration.

Later in June, he also returned the MACC's investigation papers on the bungalow purchase and instructed the commission to probe further.