Penang Deputy Chief Minister Mohamad Fairus Khairuddin said today that the offer of posts in state committees to Umno state representatives does not indicate that the Pakatan Rakyat state government is short of candidates skilled in administration.

The offer was made purely on the understanding that they are "colleagues" capable and skillful in administrative matters besides providing the opportunity for developing the state together, he said in a Bernama report.

"The offer shows that we are matured and professional in the matter of developing the state," he told reporters.

Mohamad Fairus also said the offer showed that the state government was prepared to establish a new culture of political maturity and quality by discarding the differences in political ideology.

For the people

"Of importance is giving priority to the people's interests and carrying on with the development of the state for the good of the people," he said.

The Pakatan Rakyat government offered posts to the five assemblymen - Azhar Ibrahim (Penaga), Mahmud Zakaria (Sungai Acheh), Ariff Shah Omar Shah (Seberang Jaya), Muhammad Farid Saad (Pulau Betong) and Shabudin Yahaya (Permatang Berangan) - on the Consumer Affairs Monitoring Committee last week after they had rejected a similar offer about a month ago.

The assembly reps turned down the offer because taking up the posts would be contrary to the principle of the BN, which was the opposition in the state, and it was also assumed that the offer could be a political trap of Pakatan.