Malaysia election: Selangor chief minister Amirudin Shari expected to face Azmin Ali in Gombak
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim has hinted that Selangor chief minister Amirudin Shari might be fielded as a candidate for the Gombak parliamentary seat in the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15).
“That is the duty of Amir (Amirudin), who wants to take care of Gombak. We will send Selangor’s main commander to Gombak … but this is not an official announcement … officially will be on Oct 28,” he said on Wednesday (Oct 26).
“I am the commander and I can, God willing, defend it (for PH),” Mr Amirudin reportedly told Mr Anwar.
The incumbent Member of Parliament for Gombak, Mohamed Azmin Ali, who was also the senior minister of international trade and industry in the Ismail Sabri Yaakob-led Cabinet, had previously stated his desire to defend the Gombak seat in GE15.
“I have been in Gombak for a long time. The people know me. They know my capabilities and devotion,” he was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today on Tuesday.
“I’m ready to continue serving the people of Gombak.”
He added that he welcomed the challenge of any candidate for the seat, adding that it was part of the democratic process.
Separately, Mr Azmin claimed that Mr Anwar has decided to contest in Tambun, Perak because he is afraid of being rejected by Malay voters in Gombak.
“He (Mr Anwar) left Port Dickson to (want to) contest in Gombak. However, he is running to Tambun,” Mr Azmin was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today at a Perikatan Nasional (PN) event on Wednesday.
“Gombak has a Malay majority, and because Malays will not accept someone who is power-hungry, he is running to an area that has fewer Malay voters,” he reportedly said.
Mr Azmin has held the Gombak parliamentary seat for three terms, which he won under the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket. He is currently with Bersatu, a component party of the PN coalition.
In September, Mr Anwar said that he would pick areas held by “traitors” to send a message that treachery in politics is not acceptable. Gombak was reportedly among the constituencies being looked at.
"Honestly, I have not decided on the choice of the seat to contest but I will certainly consider a seat held by a ‘traitor’ of PKR and PH”, he was quoted as saying by Bernama during an event with journalists on Sep 28.
Although he did not reveal which seat he would be contesting in at that time, he did not rule out the Gombak parliamentary seat, if the party leadership decides he should.
However, last Thursday, he announced that he would contest in the Tambun parliamentary seat, previously held by former Perak chief minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
"Perak will be the frontline of our battle during these upcoming polls, and that's why I will be contesting in Tambun,” Mr Anwar said during a PH event launching the coalition's manifesto last Thursday.
Last Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) announced that Malaysia would hold GE15 on Nov 19. Nomination Day will be on Nov 5, while early voting is set to be held on Nov 15.
More than 21 million people will be eligible to cast their votes during the elections which are estimated to cost RM1.01 billion (US$213 million).
In a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Anwar, who is PKR president, and his deputy Rafizi Ramli unveiled seven candidates who will be fielded by the party.
Several candidates are professionals who are making their political debut in the federal polls.
They included religious educator Nik Omar who is the son of the late Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s (PAS) spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, spinal medical expert Noraishah Mydin Haji Abdul Aziz who is with Universiti Malaya, former state secretary Zainal Azman Abu Seman, Universiti Malaya lecturer Professor Hasan Basri Awang Mat Dahan, and PhD candidate Fathin Amelia Fazlie.
When explaining how PKR selected the candidates, Mr Rafizi said that the party wanted to address the wishes of the electorate to see fresh faces as well as professionals, rather than “full-time politicians”.
“Over the last two years, it was very obvious that the issue that will determine the outcome of this election is the public's cynicism towards politicians and political parties. That's why increasingly you see more voters feel that they will no longer be relying exclusively on political parties but will also put more weightage on the ability and the freshness of the candidates,” said Mr Rafizi.
