IT will not be easy for Mohamed Azmin Ali to defend his Gombak seat in the 15th general election (GE15), PKR leaders and political observers said.

It follows his departure from PKR, along with 10 other lawmakers after the Sheraton Move in February 2020, which led to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

Azmin, a three-term Gombak lawmaker, along with several parliamentarians, then joined Bersatu.

Gombak PKR deputy chief A. Rahim Kasdi said Azmin’s action disappointed the grassroots, especially voters.

“I am a senior leader in Gombak. When Azmin left PKR we had no problems. The majority of the party’s supreme council and Wanita branch committee members are still with us, the effect can be said to be insignificant,” Rahim told The Malaysian Insight.

Of the three state seats, Hulu Kelang and Sungai Tua still remain with PH. The former assemblyman for Gombak Setia, Hilman Idham, a staunch Azmin supporter, left the party and joined Bersatu.

Gombak Amanah chief Saari Sungib currently occupies Hulu Kelang state seat while Selangor Menteri Besar and Gombak PKR chief Amirudin Shari is the Sungai Tua assemblyman.

“At the grassroots level many are disappointed with their departure.

“Even though Azmin was a long-time leader in Gombak, it will not be that easy for him to win here again,” said Rahim.

Beginning September 11, PKR started an offensive to recapture all the seats they branded as “treason seats”, starting with a mega rally in Gombak.

The programme, which was filled with talks from the party’s leadership, took place at the Taman Melawati Ramadan bazaar site, among others. PKR president Anwar Ibrahim also attended the event.

“We want to show we are still strong in Gombak even though some MPs and assemblymen have left to join other parties. We want to tell the people our strength is still intact and unaffected.

“We will defend the parliamentary seat and seize the Gombak Setia state seat, under the leadership of the menteri besar, we are confident we will be able to take back the seat taken away by the two traitors,” said Rahim.

In an apparent retaliation four days later, Azmin’s group organised a programme, but in a different setting, through a religious event in conjunction with Malaysia Day celebrations at a mosque in Gombak.

In addition to Hilman’s presence, the religious programme featured former cabinet member of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, as a guest.

Gombak is one of many Malay-majority seats PKR aspires to capture in the next general election, to show it has support of the Malays.

Malays make up 77% of the total electorate in the constituency. Ethnic Chinese and Indians make up 11% of the total voting population.

The parliamentary constituency was established in the 1995 general election after the constituency was separated from Selayang.

Since then, Barisan Nasional, through Umno representatives, controlled the area before Azmin broke the stranglehold when he won the Gombak parliamentary seat for the first time in the 2008 general election.

In the 2018 general election, he retained the seat with a majority of 48,271, defeating Umno and PAS candidates.

Hilman expects that in the next federal polls, Azmin will remain in the Gombak while the former defends his Gombak Setia seat.

Hilman said, based on the negotiations among the PN components, which included Bersatu and PAS, the incumbents would remain in their respective constituencies.

“Our principle in PN is that the incumbent remains, the incumbents still contest in their respective constituencies.

“God willing Azmin stays (in Gombak), I’m in Gombak Setia,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He does not see PKR as a threat to their positions.

“For us, what they do is their right, but for us as residents in Gombak, we feel that in today’s atmosphere and situation, we should spread the message of unity among the people more.”

Hilman felt the programmes they had implemented for voters will carry them through at the next general election.

He added that he was also confident that the cooperation among the component parties would help enable PN to maintain their dominance in the seat.

“In Gombak, the majority of voters are Malays. In Gombak Setia alone there are seven traditional Malay villages, the relationship with PAS is very important to ensure unity,” said Hilman .

Without PH, Azmin has no influence, strength

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia analyst Mazlan Ali believes Azmin was able to hold on to the Gombak seat for three terms because of the people’s support for PKR and PH.

Mazlan said that although the group of MPs who are with Azmin, such as Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, are said to be leaders with big names, without PH, they have lost their influence and strength.

“In the past, individuals like Azmin and Zuraida won due to the popularity of PKR and PH. We do not deny that personalities like these are considered great figures.

“But when they are no longer part of the PH coalition and are not members of PKR, it will be difficult for them to attract voters in the areas they once represented,” said Mazlan.

Mazlan added that at the demographics of most representatives are located in cities, and suburbs with partisan voters are PKR strongholds.

“This is because the voters in their constituencies observe their leader’s track record and measure key performance indicators.

“These leaders are labelled traitors when they jump parties. They send off a bad message.

“These leaders turned their backs on the party they once represented,” said Mazlan, adding the PKR pitch that they are traitors will resonate with voters in the area. – September 20, 2022.