Penang CM Lim Guan Eng is willing to reinstate PKR's Seberang Perai Municipal Councillor (MPSP) Johari Kassim on condition that he makes a public apology.

majlis perbendaharan seberang jaya mpsp pkr walkout 040609 johari kassim Lim seems to have acceded to a call by PKR to soften his hard line stand on the controversial dismissal of the MPSP whip.

Johari (right) is to publicly apologise for his personal attacks on Lim over the appointment of former Northern Seberang Perai (SPU) chief Mokhtar Mohd Jait as MPSP president.

Johari led seven other PKR councillors to boycott Mokhtar's swearing-in on June 4.

He said Mokhtar's selection was against a Pakatan Rakyat "gentleman's agreement" to appoint politicians to helm local councils.

Lim criticised

Apart from Johari, other PKR councillors who boycotted the event were Che Mat Hashim, Amir Ghazali, Mahamad Hashim, Rynu Shanmugam, Goh Choon Aik, Mohd Kamil Abu Bakar and Zaini Awang

Only Farid Arshad defied the boycott order.

penang cm lim guan eng 290609 Lim (left) had invoked an administrative rule under Section 10(4) of the Local Government Act 1976 to sack Johari, a PKR state liaison committee member.

Under the section, Johari has no right of appeal.

At a conciliatory meeting between DAP and PKR in Komtar today, Lim who is also the DAP secretary-general was particularly miffed by Johari's personal attack on him.

Johari had criticised Lim for not respecting PKR's wish on council appointments and that "he (Lim) was running the state government like his own backyard".

Apology tomorrow

PKR had wanted the MPSP president's post to be reserved for the party, while DAP appoints its nominee to helm MPPP.

It's learnt Johari would be reinstated councillor once he had offered his apologies, probably via a press statement tomorrow.

penang anti isa forum 150908 zahrain md hashim Johari is likely to meet Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman to discuss Lim's face-saving demand.

PKR state chief and Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim and his DAP counterpart Chow Kon Yeow, also a state executive councillor, declined to elaborate on the controversy .

Besides Lim, Zahrain, Mansor and Chow, today's meeting meeting between DAP and PKR was attended by several Pakatan elected lawmakers including DCM 2 P Ramasamy, VS Raveentharan, Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim and Ng Wei Aik.