Wan Azizah as the first lady PM?

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang has called on the people to 'make history' as the campaign for the Kajang by-election reached its final stages.

He also said that Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) candidate Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail could be the next Prime Minister-in-waiting.

“If Pakatan Rakyat succeeds in the 14th General Elections to capture Putrajaya by winning a majority of the parliamentary seats in Malaysia, the country may be seeing the first woman Prime Minister in Malaysia,” said Lim in a press statement.

He explained that the current chosen candidate, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, could be disqualified from contesting in the next general election due to his Sodomy II conviction.

The latest twist to the ‘Kajang move’ has raised some eyebrows, though political analysts conceded that it was the best message for Pakatan to dish out for voters at this juncture.

However some have also expressed their reservations to its feasibility.

“This will win them a lot of support, especially from female voters,” said Professor James Chin from Monash University.

While admitting that there could be some discontent from other Pakatan Rakyat groups, he concluded that there was no alternative as yet.

“Besides Wan Azizah, who else is acceptable to all Pakatan Rakyat leaders? None of them at this point," said Chin.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has often been promoted as the Prime Minister in-waiting and as for PKR, the party's deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim have previously been mentioned.

Would putting Wan Azizah at the forefront anger other groups within Pakatan?

For political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, it does not matter as he believes the idea itself of having Wan Azizah as a prime minister was simply a “public relations exercise”.

“It is simply a communications strategy to tell the people that Pakatan was still going ahead with its message that Kajang is their springboard to Selangor and Putrajaya. It is just to show continuity,” Khoo said.

Khoo said he believes that Pakatan Rakyat members themselves have yet to sort out their contingency plan if Anwar is really disqualified due to his court case.

“If it’s no longer Anwar, then it’s Azizah. But in reality, they should be sitting down and thinking of this succession issue seriously, that might be good for them,” he said.

Khoo said it was time for younger leaders fill up the vacuum that senior leaders like Lim, Anwar, and Hadi will leave behind.

Khoo said that while Wan Azizah was a good choice for Kajang as she was ‘non controversial’, it was another matter for her to be made Prime Minister.

“By and large, she has not shown any leadership qualities to become Prime Minister," he said.

Analyst Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin of UKM concurred saying that Wan Azizah was a "weak replacement".

However, he said that it was 'better' to have Wan Azizah for Pakatan and PKR's "long-term political interest". "(It would) make Anwar happy, (but) Anwar also won't have full control."

Wan Azizah will face Barisan Nasional candidate Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun of MCA in a straight fight for the Kajang seat come Sunday.

The seat, comprising of 39,728 registered voters, fell vacant following the resignation of its PKR assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh on Jan 27.

Astro Awani