For decades, I followed with interest how Anwar Ibrahim defended people, regardless of religion and race, whether he knew them or not. He defended and sacrificed until he was (and still is) being humiliated in many ways by different parties, but he has never stopped.

As a seasoned politician, I think he knows how concerned citizens will be resistant towards the ‘Kajang move’ and is well aware of the risk that he is getting into. It is true that the rakyat does have the power to punish him, such is democracy. And so people will speculate and debate on this move, and this is something that can be healthy but also potentially misleading.

Thank you for being transparent by telling us that you have profited from your work with the Selangor state government. Perhaps, you earned more than what many people who have defended Anwar, PKR, and more importantly the cause for freedom and justice in the country since long ago.

But one thing that I wanted to ask from you, did you get this work of yours through open bidding or direct nego due to your relationship with some people inside the MB’s office? Please be honest.

One thing that I agree with you is the way Kajang move was initiated. It surprised me, and I believe many others as well. At the same time, we think Kajang deserved a better assemblyperson after Cikgu Lee Kim Sin was not named as a candidate in the last general election.

Yes, there is a need to explain about everything. Nevertheless, with the open support made by Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Pakatan should be united.

But given the benefit of the doubt, I took the opportunity to listen to what Rafizi Ramli had explained during a forum the other day. He recounted that all three parties in Pakatan Rakyat were consulted, and we can see, together with the Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim himself, leaders from PAS and DAP were there during the announcement of Anwar’s candidacy for Kajang.

I also didn't quite agree when you accused Anwar of being a ‘de facto leader’ without a democratic mandate. Anwar was named as a ‘de facto leader’ through a legitimate process within his party, although I may prefer him to replace Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as president of PKR.

I believe that many of us understand why Wan Azizah was there in the first place, and you and many others were also there when Wan Azizah stepped down to give way to Anwar in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

And if you want to talk about democratic mandate, I think it is an open secret that many of the assemblypersons and exco members in Selangor have reached a point where they feel that MB Khalid should be replaced. You should know better, unless your objectivity is clouded by being around those who serve MB Khalid’s interests for too long.  

Which do I prefer?

For once, Selangorians now have a cleaner and more efficient government. While we know and appreciate the transparency and the ability of MB Khalid Ibrahim to consolidate funds for Selangor (thanks to him!), there were also many who were disgruntled towards how he seemed tight-fisted, even on essential things.  

You can ask around all the local authorities or PBT/local government officers to understand their disappointment. If you remember the Selangorku Grant that was announced one or two years back, we didn't hear anything about the approval.

Neither they (PBTs) and many other applicants were given any letter of acknowledgement that their application has been received. I can tell you from people who have tried to work with the MB’s office, the delivery from the office is not that good. Did you hear anything about the Klang River project? Did you know that some money from a businessman who are interested in the project was used in advance?

Yes, many people talk highly about MB Khalid. I am not in a position to say that he is bad and he didn’t perform. He has some achievements like other leaders, but he is not free from weaknesses.

Once again, unless you are too busy enjoying your pay from Selangor state government, you may have missed the reality that MB Khalid had moved from Ijok to Port Klang because he was afraid of losing in Ijok. And he would have lost if he re-contested in Ijok in the last GE. And I heard that many people in Port Klang are now beginning to question his capability to bring change there. This is real.

From some sad story I heard on the ground, MB Khalid didn't really spend his allocation when he was in Ijok until research showed that he could have lost in the 2013 election if he remained in Ijok. His weakness there contributed to Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad's loss at the Kuala Selangor parliament election (of which Ijok is a part).

In my view, your assertion that MB Khalid was the single most important reason why Pakatan retained Selangor is utter rubbish. In fact that statement undermines the sacrifices made by the public at large, regardless whether they were part of Pakatan members or not.

Perhaps, you forgot the sacrifice of party members and concerned citizens who went all out to campaign and prevent the state from falling to Umno-BN. Unlike some people, we never asked for nor did we receive any payment for doing this, but we also never received any motion of thanks from MB Khalid.  

I don’t see what is wrong for Anwar becoming Selangor’s new MB. Talking about democracy, if the Kajang people wants to give him the benefit of the doubt, based on his experience and capability, and most of the state assemblypersons also support him in the state assembly, we should not resort to the consent of the sultan for him to become MB.

Wondering about the dynamics of this process

In fact, we must support and ensure he delivers. The fact that MB Khalid is the one who announced his candidacy simply make me wonder about the dynamics of this process. In my wild observation, perhaps MB Khalid himself wants Anwar, and only Anwar, to replace him and not Azmin Ali.

And I think Anwar would be more than capable of representing the diverse society in Selangor ; that he can work with traditional powers when he is in a meeting with the Malay rulers; and push the BN federal government to stop supporting the hate-mongers and dividers of our country and move towards negotiating a national consensus. MB Khalid is a good person but Anwar can achieve more.

Thus far in Selangor, the main achievements have been to reduce some corruption and accumulate budget surpluses. Many concerned citizens keep lamenting that the opposition has not given them good examples of how it would run the country if it won elections. I believe this is the opportunity to find out.

So this ‘Kajang move’ is not really about resolving some internal conflict within PKR or something just to feed Anwar’s ambition. Rather, it reflects a genuine desire on the part of Anwar and Pakatan to prove that it can do better.   

Ultimately it will be up to the people of Kajang to accept or reject it but I believe people will see through the initial shock for the potential that it is - to let Anwar show that Pakatan is not only clean and efficient, it has fresh ideas and can have a positive impact on the lives of the rakyat in Selangor.  

It is indeed a difficult time. If you want to save your pride and taking a higher moral ground, I have to respect that and there is nothing that I can do to change you. As a Kajang observer, I am keen to see a new dynamic with this move. Let’s hope for the best from the outcome.

The writer has long been craving for satay Kajang. He lives nearby the constituency and will campaign for free satay during the by-election.