COMMENT When news first emerged that Anwar Ibrahim would be contesting in Kajang, after PKR’s representative Lee Chin Cheh resigned, there was negative reaction all around.

For the man-in-the-street, the general perception was that it’s a move to appease Azmin Ali, Anwar’s blue-eyed boy and Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s political rival. Mockery in the form of Anwar memes quickly made the rounds in the social media.

Civil society erupted with anger. Prominent lawyer Edmund Bon, who is a founder of LoyarBurok, a socio-political website, called on the Kajang electorate to vote for “any candidate but PKR’s”...