Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar has urged young voters not to be fooled by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is to contest the Kajang state seat.

Dubbing her a "puppet" who is being used by her huband Anwar Ibrahim in his quest for power, Khairy said the BN's campaign strategy is to remind 14,000 young voters as to who triggered the by-election.

"We are inviting the people and voters to reject Anwar. Let us not be trapped in their scheme to draw sympathy by placing his wife Wan Azizah as a candidate,” Khairy told 700 cheering BN Youth supporters at a rally in Kajang today, after the nominations were filed.

"She is only a doll and a puppet in the hands of the puppeteer, Anwar.”

Wan Azizah will face the BN’s Chew Mei Fun in a straight fight on March 23.

She was a last-minute replacement for Anwar, following his conviction last week, after the government won its appeal against his Sodomy II acquittal by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

Khairy claimed that the BN is the underdog in the by-election, even with Anwar out of the way.

"Victory can only come with the right fighting spirit as the election was not our choice," he said.
 
"No defeat, no surrender. We won't just stand aside and let them break the people's trust."

 

PKR's Lee Chin Cheh won the seat with a 6,824-vote majority in a six-corner fight  in the 13th general election last May.

Lee resigned on Jan 27 to enable Anwar to contest under the party's strategic 'Kajang Move'.

Meanwhile, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said Khairy was merely sabotaging BN’s chances in the polls as his statement would anger the people for being "overboard and disrespectful" of the latter as a woman and a politician.

“We must remember, it was Khairy who once was among the first to meet with Anwar to return his passport (in 2004). Today, Khairy is among the first to help deliver a vote to Dr Wan Azizah,” he said.