Anwar: The real fight in Kajang is between PR and BN, not Zaid

The real fight in the Kajang by-election will be between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dismissed the challenge by former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim as well as other independent candidates in the contest for Kajang.

He felt that the winning factor will be determined by the issues played up by BN.

“I am not underestimating anyone,” Anwar said at press conference at the PKR headquarters, Tuesday.

“But we have to be realistic and acknowledge that once BN announces its candidate, there will be massive campaigning,” he added.

On Sunday, Zaid announced that he would be contesting as an independent candidate in the Kajang state seat by-election on March 23.

He said the decision was made to "protect healthy politics and to uphold and respect the mandate of the people of Selangor given to the leadership of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Menteri Besar".

Zaid was an Umno leader from 1984 until he was sacked from the party in Dec 2008, among others, for allegedly attending opposition-held gatherings.

Then in 2009, he joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and contested under a PKR ticket in the Hulu Selangor by-election in 2010 in which he was defeated by the then MIC Information chief P. Kamalanathan.

Due to some internal conflicts, Zaid left the PKR and later formed his own party called Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) in Dec 2010 and became its president.

He left Kita two years later.