Zaid will not be contesting

KLANG: Former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim will not be contesting in the Kajang by-election following the Opposition Leader’s conviction for sodomy.

Zaid, who left the PKR after joining the party from Umno, said his only purpose in contesting was to prevent his former party boss Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from winning.

“I had felt strongly that Anwar’s attempt to use the democratic process to further his own personal interests was wrong, wasteful and a clear example of the abuse of power,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

He claimed that Anwar had believed that the post of the Selangor Mentri Besar would protect him from the effects of a possible conviction in his case, which was then pending in the Court of Appeal.

“Given these changes, Anwar’s reasons for having the by-election are no longer applicable. I, therefore, feel it is unnecessary to engage myself further on these issues and hereby withdraw my candidacy for the Kajang by-election,” he said.