In an interesting twist to the Kajang saga, PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin has taken MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong to task for “insulting” the people of Kajang by calling the place a “satay town”.

“As a national leader, Wee ( left ) should realise that calling Kajang a satay town is downright insulting and demeaning to the residents of Kajang.

“Kajang may be famous for its satay but it is definitely not a satay town, nor its residents 'satay people'.

“Kajang residents have already rejected BN and MCA in the last election, and there is no need for MCA to further insult the people of Kajang in that manner,” Zuraida said in a statement today.

She also grilled MCA for claiming that PKR chose Kajang for its “tactical move” as it had no confidence of taking on a majority Malay seat due to recent issues surrounding the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

Ethnicity not an issue for PKR

She said PKR is a multi-racial party and ethnicity is therefore not an issue.

In any case, Zujraida said, 48.89 percent of the Kajang constituents are Malays, 40.8 percent Chinese and 10 percent Indian, making it, in fact, a Malay-majority seat.

PKR's Kajang representative Lee Chin Cheh ( right ) resigned on Monday, triggering the by-election which Zuraida said is a “tactical design” to “fend off Umno's advancing attacks” on the Selangor government.

On Tuesday, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was announced as the candidate for the Kajang by-election – a move PKR Youth said would pave the way for Anwar to replace Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

Critics have slammed PKR for taking advantage of the democratic process to solve the heightening dispute between Khalid and rival factions in Selangor PKR.

“The decision to contest in Kajang was not an easy one, but one that was made with the people's interest at heart,” Zuraida said.