The missing link in the ‘Kajang Mess’
Anwar said he was chosen by Pakatan leaders to contest in Kajang. Azmin said Anwar had chosen to contest in Kajang, although the former claimed he had offered his seat in Bukit Antarabangsa. And on Monday night, Anwar said he was surprised Lee had quit.
Syed Umar Ariff, NST
SUNDRY shop owner Hamid Safee moved to Kajang to set up his business seven years ago. His store is a stone’s throw from the Kampung Sungai Sekamat community hall where PKR leaders held their first gathering to explain the move behind the engineering of the Kajang by-election.
While PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and PKR deputy youth chief Azmizam Zaman Huri were busy asking Kajang constituents to accept the coming of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Hamid said the by-election was a waste of the people’s money and time.
“I do not see the need to hold a by-election. The former state assemblyman was, by the way, batang hidung pun tak pernah nampak (never on the ground).
“This is just a ploy by PKR to give more power to Anwar. I heard he wants to be menteri besar. Can he juggle his workload? In Kajang, we want to move on with our lives after the general election. Tired-lah.”
The “Kajang Move” as dubbed by PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli was supposedly a platform for the party to strengthen its base in Selangor, just as Pas did in Kelantan.
Nevertheless, it has resulted in a mess, followed by contradictory statements by PKR leaders and a massive furore among their opposition allies.
Miscommunication was the buzzword of the day when Anwar was announced to contest the seat.
For instance, on the day of the announcement, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said he was in the dark over the move, while his father and DAP adviser, Lim Kit Siang, was in Petaling Jaya expressing his party’s unanimous support for Anwar.
Many claimed they were caught unawares with the now former Kajang state assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh’s sudden resignation, contrary to statements by PKR leaders that it had been planned all along.
Now, here is a brief on the confusion which leads to the missing link between the decision to field Anwar in Kajang and Lee’s premature retirement as an assemblyman.
Anwar said he was chosen by Pakatan leaders to contest in Kajang. Azmin said Anwar had chosen to contest in Kajang, although the former claimed he had offered his seat in Bukit Antarabangsa. And on Monday night, Anwar said he was surprised Lee had quit.
Wait, there is more.
PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said Lee had agreed to resign during an “emergency” meeting, long before he sent a letter to voice his intention to the State Speaker.
And yesterday, Rafizi said the plan to have Anwar as a state assemblyman had been mooted for quite sometime.
Rafizi said there was an understanding with Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim that when the time comes or if there was a need, he could be replaced with someone of better political acumen.
And that besides Anwar having earlier said the by-election was not meant as an instrument to replace Khalid as menteri besar.
Now, look at the contradictory statements that have gone on record.
The only question now is why was there a rush to elect a “world-class leader” like Anwar as an assemblyman?
Rafizi, who took the blow of engineering the by-election, said it was a precipitation of an “impending Umno racially-charged onslaught in Selangor to win the state, race-related issues and utilisation of Selangor as a PKR or Pakatan stronghold”.
Please, let’s take another look from a different perspective.
Selangor is already an opposition stronghold.
Race-related issues do not only take place in Selangor, and the idea of Umno waiting to launch a racially-charged onslaught is just too farfetched for the need to hold a by-election.
National Council of Professors political cluster head Professor Datuk Dr Mustafa Ishak offers his insight on the whole mess centred in Kajang.
“There is no clear reason as to why a by-election needs to be held and Lee has been keeping quiet about it. He is neither sick nor dead. I believe the Kajang by-election is just a diversion from the issues plaguing Selangor PKR and Anwar.”
Mustafa said it was obvious that the main issue, which “necessitated” a by-election was the Khalid-Azmin row, saying it had reached breaking point.
“There is also the upcoming appeal against Anwar’s sodomy charge acquittal. He wants to divert the spotlight away from such issues and this has resulted in red herring piled one onto another.”
PKR is now cornered against brickbats as its most unpopular move after coming into power in Selangor. The party finds it is difficult to mitigate a growing displeasure among the public.
