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Saturday, April 21, 2018

AZMIN SCURRYING TO SHORE UP SUPPORT FOR HIMSELF? HIS AIDE TO CONTEST IN GOMBAK SETIA, CLAIMS REPORT

PETALING JAYA – Speculation is rife that Muhammad Hilman Idham, a special aide to PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, will be fielded in the Selangor state constituency of Gombak Setia for GE14.
The reason, according to the rumour mill, is to shore up support for the incumbent Gombak MP who is expected to defend his parliamentary seat in the May 9 polls in what is likely to be a three-way fight at least.
Muhammad Hilman refused to comment on the rumour, when contacted by ProjekMMO, Malay Mail’s sister publication in Bahasa Malaysia.
But a check the on the Gombak Kita Setia Facebook page showed that he has been politically active there. He is also scheduled to engage with first-time voters at a dialogue tomorrow.
Gombak, a PAS stronghold
Incumbent MP Azmin had secured a lower majority of 4,734 votes in Election 2013 compared to 6,867 votes in Election 2008, and the Gombak seat is not without risks for him.
That’s because Gombak is the stronghold of PAS. The Islamist party, once allied to PKR in the 13th general election, is now a nemesis.
If he decides to stay put, Azmin would be facing PAS Youth’s deputy chief Khairil Nizam Khairudin in the coming elections.
Apart from PAS, Azmin will also face the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s candidate, rumoured to be Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, the son of a prominent silat practitioner. The BN has yet to confirm its Selangor candidates in both parliamentary and state seats.
A Pakatan Harapan (PH) source expressed confidence that Azmin would still come out tops in the polls, pointing to the various development projects in Gombak approved by the PKR-led Selangor administration in the last four years.
“When he became mentri besar, Gombak was among the districts that received abundant development, a result of a people-centric administration.
“We are confident that the people of Gombak will choose Pakatan Harapan again in the coming election,” the source said.
Support from below
Azmin will likely be able to count on support from Selangor PKR secretary Amirudin Shari, the incumbent assemblyman for Batu Caves, one of the state seats under Gombak, though it has been renamed Sungai Tua in the new redelineation exercise.
Amirudin is also expected to retain the Sungai Tua seat in GE14, as he scored a majority of 3,261 votes in GE13.
The Hulu Kelang state seat — also under Gombak — where Azmin grew up and which he represented in Election 1999, is currently held by Saari Sungib.
Now with Parti Amanah Negara, which is PKR’s ally in the PH pact, Saari had contested and won Hulu Kelang with a majority of 2,881 votes under the PAS banner in 2013.
If Azmin wants a clean sweep of all the three state seats under Gombak and ironclad support for his leadership if PH retains Selangor, he would need to wrest Gombak Setia from PAS.
The incumbent Gombak Setia assemblyman is Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan, who will be defending the state seat this time round.
It remains to be seen if Muhammad Hilman, a former student activist, will follow in the footsteps of his boss Azmin, who was also a protégé of PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The official Selangor PH candidate line-up for GE14 is expected to be announced on Monday at the Kuala Selangor Stadium during a talk headlined by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu.
– Malay Mail

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