As if the political circus surrounding Kajang wasn’t already ridiculous, an UMNO division leader has put in his two cents on who could be fielded as a BN candidate with a comparably recognizable name to go up against PKR patriarch Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim: national badminton hero Datuk Lee Chong Wei.
Padang Besar Division UMNO chief Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin contends that BN component party, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) will need to field a popular enough candidate in Kajang to defeat Anwar. If the party puts forward a locally well-regarded politician who doesn’t have much traction outside of his own constituency, it might not be enough to overcome Anwar’s global name recognition.
“Therefore, I propose the MCA nominates badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei as the BN candidate in Kajang,” he said to Free Malaysia Today.
The Padang Besar MP also said that Lee’s candidacy under BN would “divert” the people from the many issues plaguing the country today.
He adds that if the MCA were to field a fresh candidate, BN would suffer a heavy loss in Kajang due to voters not being familiar with the candidate.
On Monday, Kajang state assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) resigned from his post, prompting PKR to announce a day later that Anwar would be contesting the vacant seat, feeding rumours that he is angling to take over the post of Selangor Menteri Besar from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who has been mired in internal PKR tensions with party deputy president Azmin Ali.
Photo: Antony Stanley / Flickr
Source: Free Malaysia Today
