‘I may have said tokong’

(The Star) – Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman has denied labelling his boss “cocky and arrogant” at a press conference attended by a serious and sombre-looking Lim Guan Eng.

Throughout the press conference, the Chief Minister hardly said a word.

They later linked hands with Penang PAS commissioner Datuk Salleh Man to smile for photographs before ending the brief media session at Komtar here yesterday.

Mansor, who is Penang PKR chairman, had allegedly uttered the words angkuh (cocky) and sombong (arrogant) to describe Lim at a party meeting in March to discuss preparations for the general election.

The Deputy Chief Minister I had allegedly also remarked that Penangites viewed Lim as a tokong (deity).

The words, allegedly recorded in the minutes of the meeting, were published in a blog “Gelagat Anwar” in its postings on June 16, June 18 and June 19.

Mansor said the words angkuh and sombong never left his mouth.

“I don’t know how it came about. I never thought the chief minister as proud or arrogant,” he said as he added to a written statement distributed to the press.

However, he admitted that he may have uttered the word tokong but claimed that the blog had taken it out of context.

“I may have said the word tokong but it was actually meant to refer to the honour and high respect given to the chief minister by the people of Penang,” said Mansor.

Pressed by reporters, Mansor repeated: “I don’t think I stated the words angkuh and sombong.

“I said tokong, but angkuh and sombong? I don’t think so.”

He also denied that the March meeting was a strategic planning meeting.

“It was an informal meeting with a group of PKR members centred on party matters and the polls preparations and there were no minutes taken at the meeting,” he said.