By Clara Chooi (Malaysian Insider)
HULU SELANGOR, April 15 — Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim today scoffed at the Barisan Nasional’s choice of candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election, and confidently claimed that PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is much stronger than MIC’s P. Kamalanathan.
The Selangor mentri besar, who is also the PKR elections director for the April 25 by-election, believed that MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel was a more worthy opponent than Kamalanathan, based on experience.
“Palanivel had represented Hulu Selangor for more than four terms and we chose Zaid after comparing both their experiences. But now, we have a lesser candidate competing instead of Palanivel,” he told reporters after officiating the formation of the Hulu Selangor district council investment unit at the Bukit Beruntung golf course here this evening.
Khalid laughed and nodded when reporters queried if he felt that Palanivel would have posed a bigger threat to Zaid if he had been fielded. “Well, yes… Now, I can say that,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced Kamalanathan’s candidacy this evening, after tough negotiations with the MIC, which initially demanded for Palanivel to contest.