LEAKED MINUTES: Mansor vents
frustrations on Penang CM
GEORGE TOWN: PENANG Deputy Chief
Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman has been implicated in the making of nasty and
disparaging comments against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, including describing
him as “cocky and arrogant”, during a state Parti Keadilan Rakyat strategic
meeting in June.
State PKR leaders who attended
the meeting were told that the Penang scenario was different now with DAP
acting like a dictator in the administration of the state.
Mansor was quoted verbatim as
saying that DAP, despite being part of Pakatan Rakyat, “wants to kill off PKR
in the next general election and control power in Penang by themselves”. “He is
very arrogant I tell you … cocky and
arrogant. It is not easy… now more arrogant
because he won big.
“They are sure of winning 19
(state seats) and they want more. Because by two more, they can form their own
government and they can take from us (PKR representatives) to be on their side
and then abandon us.”
The minutes quoting Mansor are
posted on a blog, Gelagat Anwar.
The minutes also listed the names
of the attendees besides detailing discussions on seat allocations and the
problems faced by PKR in Penang.
Also minuted was how PKR members
should rally together as there would be plenty of jobs to go round if Pakatan
Rakyat managed to wrest Putrajaya in the next general election.
Matters discussed were centred on
PKR’s Chinese candidates, including those likely to be dropped, new faces and
incumbents.
The Penang legislative assembly
consists of 40 seats, with DAP holding 19; PKR, nine; Pas, one; and Umno, 11.
The leaked minutes have
infuriated DAP with its Penang chairman, Chow Kon Yeow, issuing a statement yesterday demanding an
official clarification from Mansor.
“The Penang DAP views with
concern the leaked minutes of the PKR strategic meeting where its Penang
chairman was quoted as saying that Lim
is arrogant.
“We will await the official
clarification from Mansor before making any further statement,” he said.
Chow also claimed Penang DAP had
not made any demand for additional seats and ruled out any possibility of
three-cornered fights with its Pakatan
partners.
“Any comments regarding seat
arrangements in Penang on news portals are solely made in the context of
internal PKR electoral discussions and in no way reflects the reality.”
Chow said the leaked information
about DAP wanting to contest additional Chinese seats should not be taken “so
seriously”.
“It was a party strategy meeting.
When you have a meeting like that, you look at the big picture and consider all
possibilities. People talk and discuss about anything during such meetings but
no final decisions are made.”
PKR leaders, who were present at
the meeting, have chosen to stay away from the controversy. They, however, did not deny the contents of
the minutes, but said it was best left
to Mansor to handle the issue now.
PKR Bukit Bendera division deputy
chief Felix Ooi and the party’s Bayan Baru deputy chief, Tan Seng Keat, who
both attended the meeting, said the matter should be referred to the state
party leadership.
“The leak is being investigated.
I think it is not right for people other than Mansor to make statements,” Ooi
said.
Mansor, in a text message,
claimed he had issued a statement concerning the matter last month, but did not
state where and to whom the statement was made.
Read more: Lim ‘cocky, arrogant’
– Top News – New Straits Times
http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/lim-cocky-arrogant-1.128718##ixzz24QnS3tmh
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