GEORGE TOWN: The DAP will fully back Anwar Ibrahim if he wants to replace incumbent Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor Menteri Besar after the Kajang by-election.
In saying this, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh declared his party’s full backing for the parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar to win the Kajang state seat.
Being a former deputy premier and current Selangor economic advisor, Karpal said Anwar was the ideal man for the top political job in Selangor.
“The DAP fully supports Anwar to contest and win the Kajang seat. We will back him if he aspires to be the next menteri besar.
“He has his rights to become the menteri besar. As it is now, he is already the Selangor economic advisor.
“So he is no stranger to the top job. It’s just a step up,” Karpal told FMT when contacted here today.
Speaking on the issue for the first time, Karpal said Permatang Pauh MP Anwar had his rights and was the right man to contest the Kajang seat.
He also clarified that PKR supremo Anwar’s Kajang foray had been endorsed collectively by all Pakatan Rakyat allies.
The Bukit Gelugor parliamentarian said the forced by-election was also necessary to stabilise faction-ridden PKR for the good Pakatan and the country.
“All that frictions and factionalism in PKR got to stop. Selangor is the jewel in Pakatan’s crown. It’s the richest state.
“We cannot afford to have a troublesome PKR for it would badly affect Pakatan and erode public confidence.
“Anwar’s candidature for Kajang is crucial to unite and stabilise PKR, and strengthen and consolidate Pakatan.
“I’m sure Khalid and Azmin Ali would now ceasefire and back their captain. Anwar would surely get all the support from Pakatan and its supporters,” Karpal said.
The larger picture
The Kajang state seat fell vacant following the resignation of incumbent assemblymen Lee Chin Cheh of PKR on Jan 27.
The Election Commission has announced that it would meet on Feb 5 to discuss the by-election nomination and polling dates.
The state seat comprises 38,965 registered voters.
At the last general election in May, 2013, the seat saw a voter turnout of 87.9% with 541 spoilt votes.
It has 48% Malay voters, Chinese 41%, Indian 10% and others 1%.
In the 2013 general election PKR’s Lee garnered 19,571 votes followed by Lee Ban Seng (Barisan Nasional-MCA) with 12,747 votes and Mohamad Ismail (Berjasa) 1,014 votes.
The three independent candidates who contested the seat are Mohd Iwan Jefrey Abdul Majib (249 votes), Ong Yan Foo (85 votes) and Mohd Khalid Kassim (83 votes).
Lee won the seat with a comfortable 6, 824 vote majority. Except for the MCA candidate all other aspirants lost their deposits in the polls.
Kajang, well known for its Satay, is located in the eastern part of Selangor in the Hulu Langat parliamentary constituency.
It has a 342,657 population, consisting 60.4% Malays, 19.3% Chinese, 9.7% Indians, and 10.6% other ethnic groups.
To date only Anwar has declared his candidacy to contest the state by-election.
The by-election will not have a bearing on who runs the state as Pakatan has 44 seats in the 56-seat Selangor state assembly. The remainder 12 seats are held by the Barisan Nasional.
Karpal also hit back at detractors for criticising Anwar and PKR for forcing a “wasteful” by-election, and called on lay public to see the larger picture.
He said the projected RM2 million expenditure for Kajang by-election was “nothing” when compared with the opportunity it would present to the voters to express their feelings on the current happenings in the country.
He said the by-election provided an opportunity to the people to pass judgement on the surging prices of goods, goods and services tax, and the Allah issue.
He said a by-election, either for a federal or state seat, was necessary to provide a political barometer on how lay public adjudge post-general election performance of incumbent government.
He said Kajang was an ideal platform for Malaysians to judge the moral high grounds of those in power in Putrajaya who had caused people so much hardship.
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