Kajang by-election a well conceived political manoeuvre – Lim Sue Goan

Perhaps Malaysian motorists should be thankful to Kajang. If not because of the by-election, the government might not consider applying a brake on the imminent toll hikes on 15 expressways at a compensation cost of RM400 million.

Once again we see that politics is above everything. Prior to this, a minister has said toll hikes were essentially inevitable or the country's economy would be ruined. But with the by-election, politics will now take the driver's seat and the finances could be fixed later.

Honestly this by-election masterminded by Anwar Ibrahim is just as important to Umno, which must do everything it could to check the advances of the PKR advisor.

First of all, compared to Khalid, Anwar is a much tougher person to deal with. A businessman by training, Khalid does not have too many political tricks in his hands. But if Anwar were to become the menteri besar, things will be very different and his personal feud with Umno will further accentuate the conflicts between the state and the federal governments.

Khalid has previously agreed to conditionally allow the federal government to take over and restructure Syabas. The state government has also agreed in principle to implement the Langat 2 project. All these might change if Anwar is in charge.

Secondly, Anwar will be in direct command of Selangor's political resources, posing a truly serious threat to Umno. Consequently, it is understandable that Umno leaders will go all out to block Anwar's access to the MB's office, especially former prime minister Dr Mahathir. Even though Anwar is elected Kajang state assemblyman, he still needs to go past the Sultan.

Anwar created the by-election with a dual purpose: to appease the power conflicts within Selangor PKR by blocking Azmin Ali's access to the MB's office to mess things up for Selangor; and to provide a political platform for Anwar to extend his Putrajaya dream.

As such, PKR and Pakatan have decided to position the Kajang by-election as a strategic move towards Putrajaya, making the Kajang constituents see the significance and necessity of this by-election instead of just another product of power game that squanders public resources.

Whatever angle we look at it, and on whichever side you may stand, the by-election in Kajang is in essence a total politically motivated ploy that has nothing to do with public interest.

While Anwar can make whatsoever arrangements to achieve his political goal, there are nevertheless certain things that are out of his reach.

Judging from the current situation, Anwar has 70% chance to win Kajang, given the fact that people are grossly disgruntled at the government over skyrocketing prices, a negative sentiment so powerful that not even a decision not to raise the toll rates will help contain.

A stone's throw from Kuala Lumpur, Kajang is a rapidly developing town whose residents can get easy access to all types of information. On the back of strong support for Pakatan in Selangor in GE13, it is said that pro-Pakatan Malay voters in the state have grown by more than 5%, With 48.50% Malay voters and 40.28% Chinese voters, Kajang makes a convenient bridgehead being close to Putrajaya.

That said, Anwar may need to work harder if he were to eventually become the MB as Azmin is not in good terms with Khalid and the PAS Youth chairman Suhaizan Kaiat has said even though PAS Youth support Anwar's bid in Kajang, it does not mean it will support him as the menteri besar.

Sure enough Umno will launch a merciless counter-attack on Anwar. For one thing, the Kajang by-election is dragged on for 55 days before the voting, an unusually long break which will give the BN and MCA ample time to prepare.

A lethal factor will be the rising prices and it is believed that BN will make good use of the time to do something to lessen the people's burden, including distributing the BR1M during the campaign period.

Meanwhile, the prosecution's appeal on Anwar's acquittal in sodomy case will go into hearing in mid-February and any new development from the hearing will have an impact on the election outcome.

The long break means anything can happen to Selangor, dealing a severe blow to the image of the state administration and Pakatan leaders.

Nevertheless, it is impossible for BN to make miraculous improvements on its track record in one short month to meet the expectations of Kajang residents, including the issues of public safety, corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

Similarly, it is equally hard for BN to divert the voters' attention to Anwar's credibility and PKR's internal problems, as they are much more concerned about national issues.

Malaysians are yearning for a more matured two-party system in order to establish a more democratic and open society but this two-party system has now been hijacked by politicians and reduced to nothing more than a tool to advance their political gains.

The recent events have further exposed the undesirable traits of our politicians. Unless we can purge the politics, the two-party system is not expected to bring real benefits to the people and put a determined stop to all the senseless tussles. Hopefully Kajang will be a new starting point for that. – Sin Chew Daily