DESPITE a fierce fight put up by Rafizi Ramli, Mohamed Azmin Ali’s experience in the Selangor government, and now, as a cabinet member appears to be paying off in the PKR elections, where the duo are vying for the deputy presidency.

The grassroots seem to be more receptive to Azmin’s campaign than Rafizi’s combative style, partly due to the former’s control of the party structure by way of his position as the incumbent No. 2.

Political analyst Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said Azmin has also leveraged well his former position as Selangor menteri besar.

“In fact, despite the fierce and hostile attacks from Rafizi’s camp, it appears that their campaign is ineffective. Azmin’s camp has a better strategy for approaching voters,” the International Islamic University Malaysia lecturer told The Malaysian Insight.

According to The Malaysian Insight’s count, Azmin’s camp has the lead in the elections, which have been held in 11 states to date.

He is ahead of Rafizi by 1,287 votes, and senior leaders in his camp are also doing well.

They are Zuraida Kamaruddin, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, and Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, who are among the top four contenders vying for the posts of vice-presidents.

However, Nurul Izzah Anwar, from Rafizi’s camp, still has the highest number of votes in the vice-president’s race, at 32,294.

In the race for the Youth chief post, Azmin’s ally, Dr Afif Bahardin, is leading, but only with a slim majority of 100 votes against contender Akmal Nasir.

Afif’s running mate for the Youth deputy chief post, Hilman Idham, is well ahead, by almost 10,000 votes.

Azmin’s people are faring well in their bids for posts in the central leadership council, which has a maximum of 20 seats.

Fifteen candidates allied with Azmin are in the lead for central council seats, with Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari ahead with 34,383 votes.

Only five from Rafizi’s team have made it into the top 20.

Azmin’s win not yet secure

Looking at the election results, political analysts believe that Azmin and his team should be performing even better.

The fact that Rafizi is a formidable challenger indicates that Selangor PKR, despite its solid support for Azmin, is not a stronghold.

Analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi, from Universiti Malaya, said if Azmin’s influence was as strong as predicted, he should have reaped a higher number of votes in the earlier phases of polling in Selangor.

“How can Selangor be said to be a stronghold? In Phase One, Rafizi managed to breach Azmin’s stronghold, and Azmin had a majority of only 1,000 votes when he should have won at least a quarter, or 3,000, out of the 9,000 votes (in that phase).”

The first phase of the polls in Selangor involved nine divisions, which voted on October 14. Phase Two, on October 21, saw another seven divisions voting.

The last phase will see the remaining six divisions in the state voting tomorrow.

Azmin’s win is also not secure because polling has yet to be held in Sabah and Sarawak, which are seen to be kingmaker states due to the large number of PKR members there.

While some find the bitter fight for the post unpalatable, it cannot be ignored as whoever wins the deputy presidency will have consequences to the government.

Tunku Mohar said a victory for Azmin would be more stabilising for Pakatan Harapan, whereas a Rafizi win could see the administration having to deal with more internal criticism.

“It (Azmin’s win) will strengthen the PH government. If Rafizi wins, we might see more attacks on the government and cabinet decisions.”

Rafizi is running his campaign on the narrative that he will ensure PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim becomes prime minister, and that PKR must be rid of the “feudal, Umno-like” culture. – October 27, 2018.