As outgoing Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is resigning as the Balingian state assemblyperson, the state will soon have to hold a by-election to fill this vacancy.

As such, this is a golden opportunity for the power-crazed PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to capture Sarawak by offering himself as a candidate for this seat.

Anwar as the top general of Pakatan Rakyat should spearhead this battle in Sarawak, instead of sacrificing an underling of his by making him quit as an elected representative simply so that he can become the Selangor menteri besar via the Kajang by-election.

His urge for power has reached a state of a terminal illness. As the Permatang Pauh MP, he had failed to topple the government in the 13th general election on May 5, 2013, and as such he had to back away from his dream of becoming prime minister.

Therefore, he is now eyeing the Selangor menteri besar post, moving his stage from Penang to Selangor so that he can capture Putrajaya in the next general election.

So, if he is willing to come all the way from Penang to Selangor for a state seat, then there is no reason for him not to stand in the Balingian by-election in Sarawak.

There is no other leader in Pakatan who can outperform the one and only world-class leader – Anwar. Only he is fit to stand in the Balingian by-election, which belonged to the former chief minister himself.

In many assemblies, Anwar had hysterically expressed his lust for the control of the federal government. He had even given an excuse that since Kajang is near Putrajaya, he had created the Kajang by-election.

Although he has never explained how the state seat can help him capture Putrajaya, it is very obvious that he wants to replace incumbent Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

As such, if Anwar can come up with such a great excuse to create the Kajang by-election, then there is really no reason for him to refrain from contesting the by-election in Sarawak.

CHAI KIM SEN is MCA publicity bureau chairperson and MCA deputy national organising secretary.