Nibong Tebal MP Mansor Othman has denied a message which went viral on the WhatsApp application that he would be vacating his parliamentary seat to make way for PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim to contest in a by-election.

"The message is not correct. I deny that I will be vacating the Nibong Tebal seat. I will not give up the Nibong Tebal seat,” he said when contacted in George Town today.

According to the message which went viral on WhatsApp, a special PKR meeting which was held this afternoon had agreed that Mansor would give up his post as Nibong Tebal MP to make way for Anwar to contest.

The message also said that the Penang PKR chairperson would be appointed Penang Yang Di-pertua Negeri.

However, sources said that no special PKR meeting was held this afternoon.

In the 14th general election, Mansor who was the incumbent for the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat defeated Shaik Hussein Mydin (BN-Umno), Mohd Hilmi Haron (PAS) and Tan Tee Beng (Independent) in a four-cornered fight with a majority of 15,817 votes.

During the Sungai Kandis by-election, Anwar was reported as saying that a parliamentary seat would be vacated to allow him to contest and hinted that he would return as MP by the end of this year.

The move is seen as preparing Anwar to become the eighth prime minister. However, the parliamentary seat where Anwar will contest is still anyone’s guess and he has yet to make a decision on it.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today confirmed that an announcement on which parliamentary seat the former deputy prime minister would contest would only be made after he returns from Hong Kong this Wednesday.

- Bernama