More intense drama set to unfold
Selangor folk can expect a sizzling hot Ge15 with the clash of big personalities
KLANG: From the time Pakatan Harapan yanked Selangor from Barisan Nasional’s grip in the 2008 general election, there never has been a dull moment in the state.
More so during the subsequent polls in 2013 and 2018 which bore witness to many nerve-wracking moments.
The 15th General Election (GE15) is no exception as it has set the stage for more nail-biting suspense and dramatics.
Although it does not involve state seats as Selangor has chosen to complete its full term until the middle of next year, GE15’S atmosphere is far more intense than previous polls.
The reason, of course, being the personalities battling each other for various coveted seats out of the state’s 22 parliamentary constituencies.
One of the most closely watched fights is in Gombak where incumbent Datuk Seri Azmin Ali of Perikatan Nasional will face off with Pakatan’s Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
The intense battle is between a mentor and his mentee, who had both ridden the Reformasi wave in PKR together for over a decade, before parting ways due to differing politics.
The outcome of the battle, observers say, will be the catalyst that charts the future route of both men’s political journeys.
Merdeka Center co-founder and programme director Ibrahim Suffian reckoned the situation could turn out to be bleak for Azmin as Gombak is a Pakatan stronghold that is pretty much an urban Malay enclave where voters mostly have a very critical outlook and do not subscribe to traditional politics.
He said Amirudin had also done a lot of legwork in the last 10 years, particularly in his Batu Caves state constituency which comes under Gombak.
“And Pakatan has been running the state for 15 years without any major scandals, errors or mismanagement and has a reasonably good track record,’’ he said.
Other constituencies that are attracting just as much attention are Sungai Buloh, Kuala Selangor and Tanjong Karang.
Sungai Buloh is closely watched because Khairy Jamaluddin is contesting there against Pakatan’s Datuk R. Ramanan and five others.
Just like Gombak, Sungai Buloh is also a Pakatan stronghold with its previous MP R. Sivarasa winning the seat with a 26,634 majority in GE14.
However, unlike Sivarasa, who is well known as a human rights lawyer and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s counsel before becoming an elected representative, Ramanan’s political history is rather scarce and is literally an unknown among the area’s grassroots.
On the other hand, Khairy is perceived as a “celebrity” politician due to his impressive performance as Health Minister, especially when handling matters related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khairy’s recent allegation that he had to choose Sungai Buloh after his party had literally stranded him without a seat, may also work in his favour.
Realising that Khairy may land in political wilderness in the event he loses, the Sungai Buloh electorate may just decide that the onus is on them to ensure the Umno firebrand wins to remain within the national political landscape.
And then there is the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat which is the battle ground for Pakatan’s incumbent Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Barisan’s Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz – both giants in their own right.
Tengku Zafrul has been visiting the constituency for the last several months and participating in various events as a prelude to him contesting there.
At the moment it is as good as anyone’s guess whether it will be Dr Dzulkefly or Tengku Zafrul who will win the race as there are mixed signals in the constituency.
In nearby Tanjong Karang, where six-term MP and local political warlord Tan Sri Noh Omar has been sidelined in favour of the division’s wanita chief Datuk Habibah Mohd Yusof, there’s an open show of outrage among the division’s grassroots.
More so after Noh, who is Selangor Umno and Barisan chief, openly said he was “hurt, sad and disappointed” with the way he was sidelined like “a piece of old rag”.
Sources from the division say there is raging anger over the way Noh was treated and Habibah is facing the backlash which threatens to stunt her campaign machinery.
“Being a party man, Noh is campaigning in spite of being slighted but his followers and supporters are not as magnanimous as him,’’ said the source.
The source also said that a top Umno leader would be visiting the area soon to soothe frayed sentiments and remind party members that what mattered most was to ensure Tanjong Karang remain in Barisan’s grip.
Going by what is happening on the ground, Selangor which is regarded as the jewel in the nation’s crown, will undoubtedly be the most sizzling hot state.
Although Pakatan will probably win a lion’s share of the 22 parliamentary seats in the state, there are a couple of big questions that are looming ahead.
Firstly, will Pakatan be able to retain the 16 seats it holds or will it be further reduced?
Pakatan won 20 seats in GE14 but lost Sungai Besar, Gombak and Ampang following the Sheraton Move and Kuala Langat after its PKR incumbent Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar abandoned his party to become an Independent and eventually joined Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
Secondly, would the electorate forgive and cast their votes again for highly popular former PKR stalwarts who had betrayed the people’s mandate by quitting their party and jumping ship?