MCA is singing praises of Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, hoping that the strategy will help its candidate defeat Anwar Ibrahim in the Kajang by-election.

Referring to the water deal inked between Putrajaya and the Selangor government yesterday, MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong said Khalid was willing to set aside political differences for the sake of the people.

This, he added, showed that Khalid, who is slated to be replaced by Anwar should he win the polls, understood the people’s plight.

"It's up to the media and voters to judge who should be the mentri besar," he told a press conference at MCA's Kajang by-election operations centre today.

Wee also questioned if Anwar would have done the same thing as Khalid, should the former be appointed as mentri besar.

Commenting on Anwar's statement that he was unaware of the deal, Wee said: "This shows that there is no synchronisation and coordination between Anwar and Khalid."

Asked to comment on unrest in the party caused by the water deal, Wee replied: "That is none of my business. It’s an internal spat between Anwar, Khalid and (PKR deputy president) Azmin Ali. We are outsiders and don't know what's actually happening there."

Business license fees increased

Meanwhile, Wee also revealed that the Kajang city council has imposed a drastic increase for business license fees with the highest rate up to 282 percent, affecting 12 small industries in the town.

He stated that MCA had received 35 complaints from operators in the past 24 hours.

Wee requested Anwar, who is the state economic adviser, to explain the “unreasonable and ridiculous” adjustment.