Unlike PAS, DAP in full support of Anwar’s Selangor foray
Pua assured his party will ‘provide all necessary assistance and support’ to ensure Anwar wins the recently vacated seat.
(MM) – In stark contrast with PAS, the DAP offered today its “unconditional” support to PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the coming Kajang polls contest, saying it has no qualms with the leader’s plan to enter state politics.
In a press statement sent early this morning, Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua assured his party will “provide all necessary assistance and support” to ensure Anwar wins the recently vacated seat.
“If Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s entry into Selangor Pakatan can help play a major role in taking us to a higher level, then Selangor will become an excellent role-model for other states to follow,” Pua said, referring to the three-party Pakatan Rakyat pact that currently governs the country’s wealthiest state.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP added that should Anwar emerge victorious, achievements by the Selangor PR government over the next four years would help chart the pact’s path to Putrajaya for the next federal election.
“To achieve our vision of change in the Federal Government… we call upon the rakyat of Selangor to give Pakatan Rakyat full support in the Kajang by-election,” Pua said.
Yesterday, PAS openly expressed unhappiness with talk of Anwar’s rumoured plan to take over the Selangor Mentri Besar’s post should he win the Kajang seat.
In a statement, Selangor PAS vowed to steer clear of the Kajang polls but pledged to step in should Anwar make a move for the mentri besar seat.
Should the post be vacated by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the party said it will nominate state party commissioner Iskandar Abdul Samad for the job, since the Islamist party holds more seats in the state assembly than Anwar’s PKR does.
“PAS Selangor will not intervene. As long as it has nothing to do with the Selangor mentri besar (job) PAS will stay as an observer,” Selangor PAS secretary Mohd Khairuddin Othman said in the statement.
Iskandar, the state assemblyman for Cempaka, could not be reached for further comment yesterday.
PR currently coalition holds 44 of the 56 seats in the Selangor state assembly. PAS and DAP both have 15 seats each, while PKR has 13 after Kajang assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh’s sudden resignation yesterday.
Anwar had announced yesterday that he will contest the coming Kajang by-election, confirming previous widespread speculation. He did not say, however, if he planned to replace Khalid as Selangor Mentri Besar, insisting that this was merely speculation for now.
