KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (Bernama) -- Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim Saturday quashed rumours that he will vacate his Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat to make way for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to resurrect his political career through a by-election.
He said it was still premature to even speculate on the matter as the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat had ample time to think about it and should he decides to return to active politics, he could contest in any of the 31 parliamentary seats won by the party in last month's general election.
The former deputy prime minister could return to active politics on April 15 after the expiry of a five-year ban following a corruption conviction.
The election rules, however, stipulate that a by-election could only be held six months after an election.
"It is his prerogative to decide when and where to contest. As far as (Parti) Keadilan (Rakyat) is concerned, we have 31 seats available.
"But I don't want to speculate on anything now as we do not want to put anyone, including our opponent into unnecessary preparation," Khalid, who is also Ijok state assemblyman, told reporters when asked to comment on the speculations after a get-together with his Bandar Tun Razak constituents.
Khalid said the party was taking a cautious step, including analysing the ground situation and timing, for a by-election to be held.
"We are very cautious about the timing and needs. We want to ascertain the necessity to have a by-election and the ability to win in the by-election," he said.
Meanwhile, PKR president and Anwar’s wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was also present, said her husband was in no hurry to contest in a by-election.
"We must first manage our current victory well," she added.
BERNAMA
05/04/08
PEOPLE'S POWER
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