Penang Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin said today he plans to sue a local tabloid for suggesting that ‘he was too lazy to do work on the ground’.

mohammad fairus penang deputy cm deny resign 160708 01 The PKR state deputy chief is furious with the Malay weekly Siasah , which published comments late last month that he claims undermined his position.

“The tabloid just published the comment without checking out the validity of the information received from its sources,” Fairus, who is also the Penanti assemblyperson, told Malaysiakini.

“At least it should have contacted me and published my side of story too. It was a blatant attempt to undermine my credibility, dignity and integrity.”

Fairus also said his lawyers will be finalising the court papers for the suit soon.

The Siasah commentary apparently prompted party supremo Anwar Ibrahim to tick him off for not "going to the ground to meet the people and resolve their problems".

anwar ibrahim pc call for emergency parliament meeting 180908 01 Although Anwar spoke to him during a closed-door meeting for state PKR leaders held late last month, the ‘slap on his wrist’ was leaked and widely reported in the local newspapers.

Fairus believes the news was leaked by certain PKR individuals with hidden agenda.

“The local newspapers made it look like Anwar and the other party leaders disliked me and my style. The press depicted a completely wrong picture on me,” he added.

He also criticised the press for not reporting the good work he had done in his constituency over the past six months.

Enemies cooked up story

Fairus said he had carried out more than 10 small welfare projects in his constituency, going down to the ground to assist affected constituents during the recent flood.

“But amazingly, all these have escaped the press attention,” he said. “I believe that several individuals are jealous of my success at such young age."

"So they cooked up a story to undermine me,” he added.

However, he refrained from naming the persons involved in the controversy.

Regarded as one of Anwar’s favourites, Fairus was subsequently appointed as the first PKR deputy chief minister to Lim Guan Eng, the DAP secretary-general.

Rumours had swirled in July that Fairus had fallen out with Anwar and intended to resign as the Penang deputy chief. But Fairus quickly quelled the rumours.