Zaid: MB post last hurrah for has-been Anwar
(MM) – The portrayal of the Kajang by-election as the “road to Putrajaya” was a decoy to mask Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s now-reduced ambition to become Selangor mentri besar, challenger Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.
The former PKR member, who is running against Anwar as an independent, also warned his 66-year-old competitor that this purported path was fraught with obstacles, including an uncooperative Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, an unapproving state Ruler, and a PAS that was not on the same page.
“The more likely reason for Kajang is that the post of mentri besar is good enough for a politician who has run his course,” Zaid wrote on his blog, zaid.my, today.
“Putrajaya remains out of reach. The problem is, this politician is from (a) faraway place called Penang, and Selangor will not view this prospect kindly,” added the former Umno minister.
Anwar, who is Permatang Pauh MP in Penang, will also be facing Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun from MCA in the March 23 polls.
Zaid alleged today that the Sultan of Selangor also appears to be displeased by Anwar’s political maneuverings after PKR newspaper, Suara Keadilan, featured a front-page picture of the PKR de facto leader with a member of the state’s royal household.
“A week after the Suara Keadilan picture came out, the Palace issued a ‘yellow letter’ (a palace decree) wherein the Sultan in no uncertain terms prohibited members of the royal household from engaging or associating themselves, directly or indirectly, in politics or with any political party,” he said.
A recent survey by the Universiti Malaya Centre for Elections and Democracy (Umcedel) showed that the majority of Kajang voters approve of a by-election in the state constituency to pave the way for Anwar to replace Khalid as Selangor MB.
Umcedel director Prof Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman also said last Thursday that Anwar is the front-runner in the race for Kajang as PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh had won the state seat in the May 5 general elections last year with a whopping 6,824-vote majority.
But Zaid noted today that Mohammad Redzuan is friends with Anwar from their Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) days.
Anwar pledged to retire after Election 2013 should the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact fail to take Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional, saying he would then take up a role in academia.
He later refused to retire in the general election that BN won with a smaller mandate, declaring that PR was the victor of the general election that he alleged was stolen through electoral fraud.
The Kajang by-election was triggered by the unforced resignation of PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh last month, fuelling rumours that the move was engineered to allow Anwar to replace Khalid as MB.
Selangor PAS said last month that state party commissioner Iskandar Abdul Samad would be nominated for the Selangor MB post if it is vacated, since the Islamist party holds more seats in the state assembly than PKR.
