KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Fifty-nine per cent of Kajang voters approve of a by-election in the state seat to pave the way for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor mentri besar, a survey by Universiti Malaya Centre for Elections and Democracy (Umcedel) showed today.

The survey of 576 Kajang voters, carried out by from February 14 to 15, also showed the approval was consistent among the three major ethnic groups, with the highest being the Chinese respondents at 68 per cent, while the Indians and Malays polled following at 62 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

The proportion of the survey’s respondents were matched against the actual demographics ratio of the Kajang electorate in all 16 areas — including race, education level, housing area, occupation and income level, Umcedel said.

In a news conference to discuss the survey results, Umcedel director Prof Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said the Kajang seat was considered a “safe seat” for PKR, noting that the party’s Lee Chin Cheh had won with a whopping 6,824 vote-majority in the May 5 elections last year.

But he cautioned that the Kajang seat would not be an effortless victory for PKR’s Anwar — who has announced he will run in the by-election.

Mohammad Redzuan said no election had ever been a “walkover” for the incumbent party despite a high vote-majority.

“Not a walkover, because elections is still far away, anything can happen,” he said of the Kajang by-election, where voting is set to take place in a months’ time.

The academic also said that PKR’s main rival Barisan Nasional (BN) should announce its candidate soon if it wanted to have a shot at winning, noting the early start that Anwar has been making in wooing voters.

BN has yet to announce its candidate for the March 23 by-election, but MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is tipped to win the party’s nod to represent the coalition.  

Citing voting patterns based on last year’s results and Anwar’s recent schedule, Mohammad Redzuan observed the federal opposition leader has only been making his rounds in PKR strongholds within Kajang and had yet to venture into areas where BN enjoys strong backing.

The academic also noted Kajang’s high Internet penetration rate and observed that a quarter of voters surveyed there rely primarily on the Internet for their news fix.

In comparison, the second highest group at 19 per cent of voters, got their news from vernacular newspapers, while 13 per cent said they read alternative newspapers and 14 per cent said they preferred watching television for news.

The survey found that ceramah—a key feature of PR’s campaign which Anwar is said to excel in—only account for 7 per cent of Kajang voters’ attention, similar to word of mouth by friends and family.

PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh resigned suddenly and without reason as Kajang assemblyman late in January, triggering a by-election for Anwar to contest.

The unforced resignation fuelled rumours that Anwar plans to join the state assembly for the purpose of removing Khalid from his post as Selangor mentri besar.

Despite claims that Kajang voters felt betrayed by the party they helped to vote in, the Umcedel survey showed that 53 per cent did not feel the by-election was a waste of funds while 35 per cent disagreed.

Those who felt the Kajang by-election should be held to resolve an internal PKR feud in Selangor stood at 42 per cent, while 20 per cent disagreed.

Half of those polled said the by-election was needed to save the PR-led Selangor government, while 19 per cent disagreed.

The by-election is set to be a multi-corner fight, with former Anwar ally Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and Yuktes Vijay—a former aide to Anwar’s lawyers during the Sodomy II trial—announcing their intention to contest.

Friend-turned-foe Senator Datuk S. Nallakarupan, who heads the Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP), has also offered to run against Anwar under BN’s ticket.

The by-election will be held on March 23 and nominations are scheduled for March 11.

The Kajang constituency is 48 per cent Malay, 41 per cent Chinese and 10 per cent Indian.