Penang PKR chairperson Mansor Othman does not sympathise with Zaid Ibrahim, who yesterday pulled out of the race for deputy president, describing him as a quitter who cannot stomach defeat.

When faced with pressure, Zaid, who also quit as Federal Territories PKR chief, would back down, added Mansor, who is a vice-president hopeful.

NONE “Zaid is not a fighter. When faced with pressure, he backs down; when he realises that he is going to lose, he quits. He cannot take defeat,” said Mansor ( left ), who is Penang Deputy Chief Minister I.

“The voting trend is that Zaid will not win the deputy president's post,” he told reporters at the lobby of the state assembly today.

Mansor, who is Permatang Pauh PKR deputy chief, conceded that there was a possibility that Zaid, a lawyer by profession, would quit the party.

Disappointed with the conduct of party’s direct elections thus far, Zaid has dropped out of the contest for deputy president and resigned from all party posts , citing “PKR leaders being involved in malpractices and election fraud” as the reason for his pullout.

azlan Zaid was in a three-way fight for the deputy presidency along with incumbent vice-presidents Azmin Ali and Mustaffa Kamil Ayub.

Zaid’s chances of winning the deputy presidency were dashed when Azmin obtained almost 1,500 votes in his favour from nine PKR divisions in Sabah - three times more than for the former.

The former de facto law minister had previously called for a halt in the elections, with backing from Mustaffa, who had alleged that the elections process was rigged.

Dilemma over new members

Mansor admitted thought that PKR was plagued by the problem of new members joining the party and expecting to be given positions.

“When they fail to get the positions, they are disappointed. They allow themselves to be made use of by certain parties, especially our enemies,” he said.

“They also use the media to air their grouses, even though there are avenues within the party to air their grouses, make accusations or report malpractices.”

Mansor said if disgruntled members continued to use the press to air their grievances, they would not be likely to solve the problem.

“The matter will only become more explosive, especially now that the BN is in high spirits after the Galas and Batu Sapi victories ,” he said.

Mansor said that members who joined the party after Pakatan Rakyat’s victory in 2008 wanted to ride on the wave of change.

zulkifli noordin But after one or two years, they realised that PKR has a different culture, so they become disgruntled, he added.

Asked about the claim by ex-PKR and now Independent MP for Kulim Zulkifli Noordin ( left )  that two more MPs would leave PKR, Mansor accused the former of being a “political slave”.

“When we are in crisis, these political slaves will say bad things about the party,” Mansor said.

On Zaid’s allegations of PKR election ballot papers being open to manipulation by election officers, Mansor said different coloured papers were used every week.

“So, how can the ballot papers be manipulated?” he asked.