KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has urged MCA to stay out of the Kajang by-election, hoping for a one-on-one match with PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The former PKR leader claimed that without “distractions” from Barisan Nasional (BN), it will be easier for him to convince Kajang voters against voting for Anwar.

“I hope MCA will not contest. My friend Dato Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the new President of MCA, will have many other opportunities to show his mettle and prove that his party is a credible voice of the Chinese.

“Let Kajang be between me and Anwar,” Zaid wrote in his blog here.

Zaid is the second former ally of Anwar to announce his itch for a straight fight with the Opposition Leader, following Senator Datuk K. S. Nallakaruppan’s offer.

Nalla, the president of Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP), a minor component in BN, had also asked MCA to opt out from the by-election earlier this month.

Zaid said that BN will bring distractions to the by-election, such as the rising cost of living and the purported failure of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“I would be in a better position to explain to Chinese voters in Kajang the clear choice they have to make,” he said, if BN were not to contest.

The former de facto law minister claimed that Kajang voters can vote Anwar if they prefer to let hate politics continue, while a support for himself means offering a hand of friendship that would be appreciated by the Malay community.

On Tuesday, Anwar had dismissed Zaid’s criticisms against him, telling the former PKR leader that his entry into the Kajang by-election would not pose a serious threat to Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR).

Instead, the PKR de facto leader said PR and PKR’s real challenge would be BN’s candidate, which the ruling coalition has yet to announce.

In a previous interview with The Malay Mail Online, Zaid proclaimed himself a more credible candidate than Anwar, whom he described as a charmer who could never lead the country or a state.

Zaid, who has a chequered political career, was briefly a PKR member and had announced his intent to run against Anwar last week in what some PR leaders claim to an attempt to spoil a straight fight with the BN.

PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh resigned as Kajang assemblyman suddenly last month without offering an explanation, triggering a by-election that is shaping up to be a multi-cornered contest.

Lee’s unforced resignation is fuelling speculation that Anwar plans to join the state assembly for the purpose of removing Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor mentri besar.

The by-election in the state constituency, which is 41 per cent Chinese, will be held on March 23, while nominations are scheduled for March 11.