The Kajang by-election will be a battle between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional candidates, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, dismissing the independent candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring.
He said that while he did not underestimate any of the candidates, Pakatan needed to be realistic and acknowledge that Barisan would be the one to beat.
Anwar pointed out that once Barisan finally decided on its candidate, its machinery would go full-fledged into holding a massive by-election campaign.
"I think the battle will be with the Barisan candidate, and the issue is what the Barisan candidate would have to say," he told reporters on Tuesday when asked whether he would be able to offer more to Kajang voters compared to former minister Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim.
Zaid Ibrahim announced on Sunday that he would be throwing his hat into the ring as an independent candidate, adding that he wanted to protect healthy politics and uphold the people's mandate given to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor Mentri Besar.
Besides Zaid Ibrahim, independent candidates include 1980s dangdut singer Herman Tino, Malaysian Indian United Party president Datuk S. Nallakaruppan and former legal aide Yuktes Vijay.
When asked to respond to Zaid Ibrahim's statement that he was the more credible leader, Anwar said he would leave it up to the wisdom of the Kajang voters to decide who they wanted to represent them.
"I have never said that I am invincible or overconfident. Otherwise, I would not be seen there every other day. I am realistic enough to acknowledge that the decision will be made by the voters," he said.
He added that he had no reason to doubt unity within the Pakatan coalition, as the PAS, DAP and PKR machinery were all out in force for the March 23 by-election.
Anwar said that in PKR's recent survey of a representative sample size of 361 Kajang voters, it had found that 42% of respondents said safety and crime issues were their top concern.
He said this was followed by traffic jams (38%), waste management and cleanliness (30%), social issues (20%), aid for low-income earners (16%), petty trader management (12%) and the services of the Kajang Municipal Council (11%).
"I am convinced that the best way to solve these issues are by involving the community through empowering them to manage their local matters," he said, adding that he was also in talks with the Institut Rakyat to conduct a study on best practices used elsewhere to combat similar issues that Kajang voters faced.
Party strategy director Rafizi Ramli said the survey had also revealed PKR enjoyed 26% of voter support over former assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh's decision to step down and forcing a by-election.
"The results are clear. Only 17% did not agree, and when we looked at their profiles, a majority have been identified as Barisan Nasional voters," he said.
Rafizi said another 26% voiced indifference, 21% were curious about what Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim could do for Kajang and the final 10% refused to reveal their stand.
Source/Fuente:http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/02/18/Kajang-Byelection-Anwar...
Author/Autor:Isabelle Lai
