Penang DCM Mansor to contest Nibong Tebal

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has named Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman as PKR's candidate for the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat.

The seat was won by Tan Tee Beng at the 2008 general election but he soon fell out with PKR and quit the party a year later to become an independent MP.

Tan (right), who is a former state Gerakan Youth leader, subsequently joined Kita but was unceremoniously sacked from the party early this year. Kita was formed by another PKR defector, Zaid Ibrahim.

"I apologise for Tan as I chose him. This time we will choose someone who is tested and with experience," Anwar told the 2,000 crowd at a packed ceramah in Sungai Udang last night.

Mansor is likely to contest against state Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman, who was Nibong Tebal MP. Zainal Abidin lost the seat to Tan by a margin of 3,087 in 2008.

"Since we are facing the state Umno chief, we will send out state PKR chief Mansor to contest here," said Anwar as the crowd roared.

"We want Mansor to help us out when we win Putrajaya at the coming general election."

Will Mansor contest two seats?

With Mansor, who is Penanti state assemblyperson, going for a parliament seat, it is not clear whether he would be dropped as deputy chief minister should Pakatan recapture Penang.

However, the former university lecturer could be fielded to contest in two seats - defend his Penanti state seat as well as to wrest back Nibong Tebal.

Mansor was recently embroiled in a controversy when a leaked audio recording of a closed-door meeting was first exposed in a blog and later aired on TV3.

The audio of the meeting held in March among several PKR local leaders revealed Mansor describing Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as cocky, arrogant and a "tokong" (deity).

Other leaders who spoke at last night ceramah include Lim, Mansor, state PKR deputy chief Law Choo Kiang and Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin.