A By-election like a General Election

THE KAJANG by election is simply getting bigger. And the biggest question is will Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim be allowed to submit his nomination papers come Tuesday March 11?

Simply put – will Anwar be eligible to stand for election? All will depend on the decision of the Court of Appeal with regards to the prosecution’s appeal against his acquittal of Sodomy II.

Or “Fitnah II” as supporters of the opposition leader calls it.

The court can be expected to make the all important decision by Monday – a day before the Kajang nomination day. It’s not far fetched to say the world awaits that decision.

So that aside, what are the issues of the Kajang by-election thus far?

Obviously the “big picture” en route to capturing Putrajaya. As we know that’s what PR are saying.

"Save Selangor from Anwar" – that’s the BN line. We know that also.

Along similar lines as the BN but with a slight twist – “ Retain Khalid Ibrahim as MB.” That’s what independent candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is trumpeting.

Then you have the Khalid-Azmin spat, the water MOU and all the side shows which come with it.

And of course there’s the high costs of living issue.

By the look of things the people of Kajang are looking at all those issues. Well most of them anyway. Come to think of it, how could they not as such issues have been served upon them ever since the seat fell vacant.

And the way it became vacant was “national debate” by itself.  No elaboration needed as we know the story already.

Kajang is “urban” with a touch of “rural.” Not cosmopolitan yet close to Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. And a big number of residents work in the big city commuting daily. Hence the populace, especially the young are “into national politics”.

But what about “local” issues?  Don’t issues like drainage, garbage collection, and housing matter? And the traffic jams. Other than satay, Kajang town is also famous for its gridlock.

Well they do. To an extent. There are residents who have brought it up to the attention of  Anwar. Some people, many of them young are using twitter to get their message across to him. Why bring it up to Anwar ? Perhaps because he’s Pakatan and PR are government in Selangor.

But those with local issues are not many though. Judging from the tweets to Anwar that is. And according to the tweets, many are seen to be interested in anti corruption efforts, good governance and justice. Big stuff like that.

However, voters of Kajang are also served with issues played outside the constituency. Religious issues like the “Allah” controversy and the Bahasa Melayu bible as well as allegations of Islam and Malays being “under threat”.

DAP’s Lm Kit Siang has from the beginning asked if the Kajang by election will be “the dirtiest or the cleanest by election in Malaysian history." To the veteran politician it can be either "depending on the role of the contending candidates, the two political coalitions – BN and PR – and the supervising bodies like the EC and police etc".

To him the Kajang by election promises to be a by-election of many surprises with the holding of the poll itself being the first surprise.

Surprise No.2 said Lim was the prompt “reflex action” of Umno information chief  Datuk Ahmad Maslan who said the BN  would “remind” the people of the sexual allegations against Anwar in the past one and the half decades. To Lim its more of “character assassination”.

And the third surprise said Lim was the EC’s decision to “create history by having the longest delay for holding the by election  – a 55 day vacancy for Kajang which many see "is to give time for differences within PR and PKR or outside to be fully exploited to the detriment of Anwar’s candidacy".

Even the timing of the nomination day on March 11 said Lim “cannot be unrelated to the opening of the of the second session of the 13th Parliament on March 10 and the beginning of the debate on the Royal Address on March 11.”

Said Lim: "Isn’t the timing aimed at sabotaging Anwar’s participation as the lead Pakatan spokesman in the parliamentary debate which would start on March  11 itself? Or is this a coincidence?"

And of course the prosecution appeal against Anwar’s Sodomy II acquittal.

Anyway the BN a couple of days ago, has promised a clean and “no personal attack” campaign. The pledge was made by Tan Sri  Muhyiddin Yassin despite Ahmad Maslan’s earlier remarks.

That should “write off” the (mis?)information chief’s plan.

But to PKR leaders, the “embarrassment and humiliation” against Anwar “have been taken care” of by Datuk Shafee Abdullah acting as chief prosecutor in the appeal’s case, “to be played up by for TV3 and Utusan Malaysia". Both are strong pro BN media.

And prior to that, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched an attack on Anwar with regards to the sodomy charges.

No matter how one look at it, the Kajang by-election is no “ordinary” by-election. Looking all the more like a general election of sorts as the March 23 polling day approaches.

It’s more than just about choosing a state assemblyman or a wakil rakyat.

The people of Kajang are asked to propel Anwar to Putrajaya or end his political career.

But before they can have their say, the Court of Appeal will have its say first.


Source: FZ