INTERVIEW Unlike former Penang deputy chief minister 1 Mansor Othman, Rashid Hasnon is not the state PKR chief but feels this works to his advantage.

There have been questions whether he can bring the party's agenda into the state administration or have enough clout to influence government policies in Penang, without being the local head of the Pakatan Rakyat component party.

NONE However, Rashid ( right ) feels that not holding the top PKR post in the state  allows him to spend more time on his executive position instead of being burdened with party work.

"There is some separation (of work) from the party as I am in an executive position, but I have more time to concentrate on my job rather than having the burden (of party work) like Mansor," said Rashid, in an interview with Malaysiakini .

Mansor, who is now Nibong Tebal MP after winning the seat in the May 5 polls, was also Penanti assemblyperson when he was DCM1 from 2009 to April this year.

A former university lecturer, he was often perceived as the "weaker link", often overshadowed by his powerful boss, Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

His exit from the state government was on the cards after it was revealed that Mansor had labelled his boss "cocky, arrogant and tokong (deity)" in a leaked PKR internal meeting minutes last year.

PKR supreme chief and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's explanation was that Mansor's move was necessary as he would be needed at federal level should Pakatan win Putrajaya in the 13th general election.

Rashid, who appeared rather cautious when replying to questions, says that although he does not hold the highest post in PKR Penang, he is still within the state top leadership.

"I have been co-opted into the party's mainstream structure, and am a member of the state political bureau, an important strategic body within PKR," said the former Penang municipal councillor.

NONE "I was also the assistant treasurer, and have been recently appointed to the party's national political bureau.

"I travel weekly with Mansor to Kuala Lumpur to attend meetings, so that's the time I get to discuss party matters with him while getting to know him better," he added.

"PKR elections will be held next year, and I would like to keep my positions, so that while I am a state administrator, I still have links to the party and can bring its agenda into the state government," he stressed.

When asked what were PKR's plan for Penang as there seem to be a lull since the election results were announced, Rashid begged to differ.

"After the general elections, we were busy filing the petitions on electoral fraud, plus we were also occupied with participating in the Black 505 rally at Padang Merbok last week," he said.

"We are also raising funds for the petitions as each constituency would need between RM50,000 to RM100,000 to file the papers and see the cases through," he said, adding he heads the fundraising committee for this.

Penang PKR has filed two petitions for the Balik Pulau (Parliament) and Teluk Bahang (state) seats - at the Penang High Court for alleged vote buying and money politics, which the respective candidates - Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik and Abdul Halim Hussain - claim had resulted in their losses and BN winning the election in those constituencies.