KAJANG, March 3 ― PKR denied today rumours of an ongoing feud between its top two leaders, as it moved to present a united front three weeks before the Kajang by-election.

PKR’s Selangor state executive councillor Elizabeth Wong blamed Barisan Nasional (BN) opponents for stirring up tensions between Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, calling it a “desperado tactic” to canvass votes.

“We strongly deny that there is a split. After the nomination day on March 11, you will see that these two leaders will be together campaigning,” she told reporters here.

Wong, who went out of her way in insisting that all is well between Anwar and mentri besar Khalid, stressed that the cooperation between the two was crucial to ensure a clean sweep in the Kajang poll.

“We cannot foresee Anwar without Khalid, or even Khalid without Anwar in Selangor.

“No one can do it alone,” the Bukit Lanjan state assemblyman said.

She also unveiled PKR's tagline for the Kajang by-election to dispel doubts of a spat between Anwar and Khalid: “Rakan sejati, bersama kukuhkan Selangor” (True friends, fortifying Selangor together).

“They (Anwar and Khalid) are old friends. They have their own mode of communication, which we may not be privy to,” Wong added.

When asked why the PKR de facto leader had been kept in the dark about Selangor's water restructuring agreement with Putrajaya, Wong reasoned that the “essence” of the deal was already known to Anwar as well as other PKR leaders.

“The essence of the memorandum of understanding has been briefed many times,” she said.

Admitting that there were concerns within PKR regarding the newly-signed deal, Wong said it was “normal” for differences of opinions to occur within any political party.

Wong's remarks come after a stern warning by coalition partner DAP last week on ending public feuds within PKR.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang told all PR partners DAP, PAS and PKR to close ranks and put aside their differences for the sake of the coming by-election, which he labelled “the by-election of the century”.

He had said Anwar’s “real enemies” in Kajang were not his opponents, whether from MCA or the independents, but from within PR and PKR, which have been making headlines of late for locking horns over a number of issues.

Anwar’s “Kajang move”, a tactical move by PKR to park the federal lawmaker inside the Selangor administration, has ruffled more than a few feathers both within the PR lynchpin and outside.

Should he win Kajang, it is strongly believed the Opposition Leader plans to remove PKR’s Khalid from the Selangor mentri besar’s seat and replace him there — a strategy that does not sit well with the indignant Khalid.

In fact, Kajang was said to have been vacated specifically to replace Khalid with Anwar, following the former’s public tiff with PKR’s deputy president Azmin Ali, who is also a Selangor assemblyman.

Selangor PAS has voiced its disagreement with the alleged plan, and wants their own man to helm the prized state if any such ouster should take place.

To add to the drama, Khalid recently okayed and signed the water deal with Putrajaya, without receiving any go-ahead from his party. The move has irked party leaders and Khalid is expected to brief his colleagues on the matter soon.