PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim has hailed Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin for being a ‘gentleman’ by gracefully relinquishing all his elected and appointed positions in the Penang government.

The opposition leader said PKR took pride that a young leader like Mohammad Fairus was standing up for his principle to clear his name from the graft allegations and prevent the party from being further tarnished.

According to Anwar, even though the embattled former Penang deputy chief minister was lured with millions of ringgit by certain quarters to defect, he nonetheless stood firm in resisting such temptations.

He said Mohammad Fairus could have joined Umno or become a ‘BN-friendly’ independent assemblyperson, but he chose not to.

mohammad fairus khairuddin "Fairus ( left ) chose to remain as a PKR man even though he had to relinquish all his positions," the PKR leader told some 500 party leaders and members at Yayasan Aman in Penanti, Permatang Pauh last night.

The gathering was a briefing session by the PKR leadership for party supporters on Fairus’ resignation as Penanti assemblyperson on Thursday.

Anwar disclosed that he and Mohammad Fairus had held a series of private meetings before finally deciding that resignation was the best option.

Since Mohammad Fairus, 33, took office after the last general election 11 months ago, he had become the target of criticisms from certain blogsites, which are apparently linked to rival party leaders in Penang.

Mohammad Fairus resigned as DCM 1 and state executive councillor on April 8 after he was embroiled in a graft investigation carried out by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The graft allegation, first raised by a PKR Youth leader from neighbouring Kepala Batas, linked Mohammad Fairus with illegal quarry operations in mainland Seberang Perai.

Mohammad Fairus’ resignation on Thursday paved the way for the sixth by-election in the country since last year’s general election.

Penanti, which has 15,241 registered voters, comes under Anwar’s own parliamentary constituency of Permatang Pauh - a PKR political fortress.

Anwar defends former Penang DCM

Meanwhile, Anwar slammed Fairus’ detractors for not using the proper internal party channels to voice their grouses.

"Fairus was upset. I won’t blame him because they (detractors) are (PKR) insiders who breached the party disciplinary code in not using proper internal channels to air their grievances," said Anwar.

anwar ibrahim special briefing 280209 The PKR candidate for the Penanti by-election, should he or she be elected, will most likely be nominated for the vacant DCM 1 and exco posts vacated by Mohammad Fairus - a party quota in Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s government.

Anwar indicated that a ‘politically strong Penang-based senior leader’ would be chosen by the party to contest the polls, which shall be held within 60 days.

"The by-election was unavoidable because we had to choose a capable leader who can work closely with the chief minister and contribute efficiently to the state administration," he said.

Anwar statement dashes any lingering hopes harboured by current state executive councillor and Batu Maung assemblyperson Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim, to succeed Fairus as DCM 1.

permatang pauh by election pkr office area 060808 mansor othman Former professor from Universiti Sains Malaysia and PKR state deputy chief Dr Mansor Othman ( right ), 59, is the frontrunner as the party candidate.

Party sources said Mansor would be an ideal choice since he was a highly respected figure within PKR circle and could not be bullied by rivals as in the case of Mohammad Fairus, who was young, inexperience and lacking political maturity.

On paper, PKR looks favourite to retain the seat, but Anwar was not taking any chances.

"Even though it is in Permatang Pauh, our stronghold, we shall not be complacent, arrogant and take things for granted. We must work hard to achieve a big win," said the PKR leader.

The Election Commission said that it would make an announcement next Friday on the status of the seat as well as the by-election date should there be a vacancy.