The "Kajang Move" () was a political manoeuvre attempted in Malaysia in 2014. The manoeuvre sought to topple the 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, and install the national opposition leader Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim as his replacement. The move was initiated by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Strategy Director, then Vice President cum Secretary General, Rafizi Ramli. The attempt resulted in a nine-month political crisis within the state of Selangor and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, that also involved the palace of Selangor. The crisis concluded with the appointment of PKR's Deputy President, Azmin Ali, as the 15th Menteri Besar of Selangor.
Introduction
Khalid Ibrahim had been the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Malaysia's wealthiest and most populous state, since the Pakatan Rakyat coalition consisting of PKR, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) won a majority in the Selangor State Assembly in the 2008 election. Pakatan Rakyat, led by PKR's Anwar Ibrahim were in opposition at a federal level; the Barisan Nasional coalition had governed Malaysia since its independence.
Rafizi Ramli, in a blog post to justify the "Kajang Move", stated that the manoeuvre would be the "game changer" in the quest of the Pakatan Rakyat to win government nationally. It was triggered by the signing of a water deal between the Selangor state government, headed by Khalid, and the federal government. Anwar and his allies within PKR disapproved of the deal; many of the party's leaders had not been informed of it in advance.
Timeline
Kajang by-election
The first stage of the "Kajang Move" was a by-election held for the Selangor State Assembly seat of Kajang on 23 March 2014. The seat was vacated after the incumbent PKR assemblyman, Lee Chin Cheh resigned on 27 January 2014. Lee had won the seat by a majority of 6,824 votes, against five other candidates, in the 2013 election.
Federal parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was quickly confirmed to stand as the Pakatan Rakyat candidate in the by-election. Anwar's election would have enabled him to take a seat in the State Assembly of Selangor, and possibly replace Khalid Ibrahim, a fellow PKR member, in the position of Menteri Besar. However, due to the swift conviction by the Court of Appeal in Anwar's sodomy case, his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail replaced him as the Pakatan Rakyat candidate. Barisan Nasional, which formed the opposition in the Selangor Assembly, named MCA vice president and former Petaling Jaya Utara MP Chew Mei Fun as their candidate.
During the by-election campaign, Anwar stated that Khalid was the best leader in Selangor's history: "We are proud of Selangor’s performance under Khalid’s administration. He is frugal. He is stingy because he is dealing with state coffers, the rakyat’s money. That is not a weakness."
Wan Azizah won the by-election with a majority of 5,379 votes. The turnout was 16% higher than in the 2013 general election.
Khalid Ibrahim sacked from PKR
On 22 July, it was claimed that PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had received the official endorsement from party leaders to replace Khalid the Selangor Menteri Besar. On 4 August, Party secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail released a 40-page document highlighting some court cases which questioned Khalid's personal integrity. According to Saifuddin, the court cases involved an out of court settlement with Bank Islam over the RM66.67mil Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd's shares when Khalid was the group's chief executive officer. Khalid however, hit back by forwarding the issue to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. On 9 August, Abdul Khalid was sacked from PKR, as announced by the party's disciplinary board during a press conference at the party's headquarters. Abdul Khalid said that despite the sacking being “flawed and illegal”, he accepted it.