It’s still game on for Anwar
(The Sun Daily) – DE FACTO Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to checkmate Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is still on the cards despite his Friday conviction on a charge of sodomy that disqualifies him from contesting in Kajang on March 23.
For a little while, it looked as though his “Kajang Move” had been derailed by the Court of Appeal’s decision.
But by getting his party to nominate his wife, PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to stand in his stead, the de facto Pakatan Rakyat leader has shown that he will not be thwarted from his plan to have a say in the state legislative assembly.
Wan Azizah’s candidacy, to be confirmed tomorrow (Tuesday), in effect means that Anwar’s shadow will be looming large over the by-election, especially with him on the campaign trail to ensure a resounding victory.
Anwar is, thus, still the man that the Barisan Nasional (BN) has to beat in Kajang although his name will not be on the nomination papers filed by the opposition party.
It is still game on for him.
To be sure, he will not be menteri besar of the richest state in the country any time in future, but he will be almost present in the mainstream of the Selangor administration by way of his wife who can be expected to be reading from a script written by him.
In one fell swoop, Anwar has turned a disadvantage into an advantage. If PKR had nominated its secretary-general, Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, or Gombak MP Azmin Ali or even his daughter, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah, as the candidate, they would not have been Anwar’s voice in the august house and administration.
They would have a mind of their own, with their own priorities and agenda at the fore.
As for Wan Azizah, she has not displayed spectacular leadership or prowess as PKR “supremo” or in the Dewan Rakyat. In all fairness, the reluctant politician and mother was forced by circumstances into politics by her husband’s incarceration in 1998.
She had to take up the mantle of responsibility to keep the flames of Anwar’s political career burning.
But to expect much from her after she wins the by-election will be asking too much.
Nevertheless, BN’s Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun has an even greater task ahead trying to erode the tide of support for the PKR and, by extension, the opposition, with Wan Azizah taking over from Anwar.
Former Kita president and former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s, and Herman Tino’s withdrawal from the race means it is almost going to be a one-on-one between Wan Azizah and Chew. There has been little word from Datuk S. Nallakaruppan, the other person to announce his potential candidacy.
The only thing to expect on March 23 will be the margin of victory for Wan Azizah.
