Selangor sends a clear signal
Unexpected losses show that voters are tired of shenanigans
KLANG: As expected, Selangor saw the most fiery fights for the state’s 22 parliamentary seats.
Most of the results as at press time were either shocking or at least highly surprising.
In the Gombak parliamentary constituency, Perikatan Nasional incumbent Datuk Seri Azmin Ali lost to his former protege and Reformasi comrade Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
In the battle between the current Selangor Mentri Besar and his predecessor, Pakatan Harapan’s Amirudin emerged the winner with 72,267 votes against Azmin’s 59,538.
The question now is whether the defeat will spell an end to Azmin’s long political career.
Many had assumed that he was invincible in Gombak and would give Amirudin a good thumping.
It is now left to be seen if Azmin will be able to defend his Bukit Antarabangsa state seat in the upcoming state polls next year.
Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian reckoned that Azmin’s defeat was the people’s way of “teaching him a lesson” for the Sheraton Move that toppled the Pakatan Harapan government in 2020.
“People have punished him for his act of betrayal,” he added.
By defeating his former mentor, Amirudin has proven that he is a politician to be reckoned with.
Combined with his position as the PKR vice-president who garnered the most votes in the party polls earlier this year, Amirudin is finally moving up to the party’s highest echelons.
Azmin is not the only one among the Sheraton Move defectors in Selangor who appear to have been taught a lesson.
In Ampang, Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) incumbent Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin performed miserably with only 4,589 votes and lost her deposit as opposed to her former PKR colleague Rodziah Ismail, who won with 56,354 votes.
In the hotly contested Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat, Pakatan incumbent Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad obtained 31,033 votes to beat Barisan Nasional’s Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz with a thin 1,002-vote majority.
It must be a disappointing turn of events for both Umno and Tengku Zafrul, as a lot of hard work had gone in the attempt to grab the seat from Dr Dzulkefly.
Another big upset in Selangor was Khairy Jamaluddin’s defeat in Sungai Buloh.
The well-known and much-admired former health minister lost to literally unknown Pakatan candidate R. Ramanan.
Khairy’s defeat signals that urban voters in Selangor are loyal to the coalition and would vote for anyone who represents Pakatan.
Khairy did not lose due to people’s personal dislike of him but because he represented Barisan and Umno – both entities that were regarded with much disdain by Selangor’s urbanites.
In Tanjong Karang, Barisan’s candidate Datuk Habibah Mohd Yusof lost to Perikatan’s Captain (B) Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi who recorded a 2,180-vote majority.
Habibah was selected to replace Tanjong Karang’s six-term MP and renowned Selangor Umno leader Tan Sri Noh Omar by the party leadership.
Noh’s loyal followers had openly demanded that Habibah decline the nomination when it was revealed that the incumbent was being dumped in her favour.
After being dropped as a candidate, Noh had said that he was hurt by the way he had been shabbily treated and deprived of the seat.
It is still unclear as to which candidates are leading in Selangor as most ballot boxes started trickling in quite late as at press time, in many cases due to the weather.
It is yet to be known if Pakatan managed to retain the 20 seats it won in the 2018 general election.