Guan Eng has confidence in Mansor
Written by Regina William, The Edge
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is confident Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) will win the Penanti by-election on May 31.
Declaring full support for PKR candidate Mansor Othman, who is trying his luck for the fourth time to win a seat in Penang, Lim said the seat was for PKR's taking.
"We are confident of a win and the DAP will work with the other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties to ensure there is full support for Mansor in this by-election.
"The DAP's election machinery will descend upon Penanti with full force," Lim said at a press conference.
On Tuesday night, after he was endorsed as the candidate, Mansor had also expressed confidence in winning the seat, even though his previous attempts had been disastrous.
He lost the Balik parliamentary seat in 1999 to Zain Omar, in 2004 to Datuk Ariff Shah Omar Shah for the Seberang Jaya state seat and in 2008 to Muhammad Farid Saad for the Pulau Betong state seat.
Despite not being a local in Penanti, Mansor said as the Penang PKR chief for eight years, he had done his groundwork and the Penanti voters knew him well.
When Lim was asked if he endorsed Mansor to be the deputy chief minister 1 (DCM1) as proposed by PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Lim said Anwar had recommended Mansor as the DCM1 choice before he was announced as a candidate.
"Personally I have no objections to this but I will discuss it with the executive council for endorsement.
"However, we will have to ensure we win the seat first before we can appoint him as the DCM1," Lim added.
Lim was also asked if the presence of former DCM1 Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin would boost PKR's chances in Penanti.
"His presence will surely help and not hurt PKR's chances," Lim added.
Fairus was present at the Yayasan Aman on Tuesday night with Anwar when Mansor was announced as the candidate and had pledged to campaign to ensure PKR's victory.
His presence allayed rumours that he was jumping ship to Umno and Fairus himself said that he had been lured with offers but remained steadfast with PKR as he believed in its struggles for justice.
