The Kajang Move: Why Manufacture a By-Election

In January 2014, the Kajang state seat was not originally vacant.

It only became a by-election after PKR state assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh resigned.

This party strategy later became known as the "Kajang Move": first let Anwar win the state seat, then pave the way for him to take over as the Menteri Besar of Selangor. ^1,2

This was not a forced election following a government's collapse.

It was the ruling party intentionally creating a vacancy in an attempt to reshuffle the leadership of its most important state government.

The First Step Was Cut Short by the Court#

On March 7, the Court of Appeal overturned Anwar's acquittal in the second sodomy case, finding him guilty and sentencing him to five years in prison. This ruling also meant he could not contest in Kajang as originally planned. ^1,2

Wan Azizah stood in for her husband at the last minute and won the by-election on March 23.

But winning a state seat does not automatically make one the Menteri Besar. The state constitution places the appointment power with the Sultan and requires the appointee to command the confidence of the majority in the state assembly; political parties can nominate, but they cannot treat the Palace as merely a rubber stamp. ^1,3

Khalid also refused to resign immediately according to PKR's plan. He insisted he was still legally in office, while divisions emerged within PAS on whether to accept Wan Azizah. PKR and DAP supported the change, but PAS leadership and various internal religious organs sent inconsistent signals. ^1,2

Two views, in brief

Supporters of the Kajang Move said: Khalid's relationship with the party and coalition had broken down, and Selangor needed leadership with better political coordination skills; while manufacturing a by-election had costs, it was a legal path to resolve a leadership crisis.

Critics said: Khalid had just led Pakatan Rakyat to expand to 44 seats, and internal party dissatisfaction should not be handled through an artificial by-election and a pre-designated successor; the move wasted public resources and underestimated the state constitution and the Sultan's role. ^1,2,3

There was no clean side in this dispute. Khalid could not be exempt from majority confidence just because of his personal track record, and PKR could not pretend procedures and public costs did not exist just because they held the seats.

On September 23, the person finally appointed by the Sultan was not Wan Azizah, nor was it the originally intended Anwar.

It was PKR's Azmin Ali. ^1,2

The Kajang Move did indeed replace Khalid, but it did not follow the original script of sending Anwar into the Menteri Besar's office. More seriously, in the midst of the crisis, the three parties openly saw each other's bottom lines: who decides the leader, whether an Islamic party listens to the coalition or its internal religious body, and how the Palace interacts with an elected majority.

Pakatan Rakyat had not formally dissolved.

But the cracks had already gone through the table.

Next: "Anwar Imprisoned Again: Pakatan Rakyat Subsequently Collapsed". A court ruling took away the opposition leader's freedom, while the hudud controversy dismantled the table the three parties sat at.