AZMIN Ali’s chances of winning in the Selangor state polls, much less returning as menteri besar, are either slim or non-existent despite Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) strong showing in the recent general election (GE15), PKR lawmakers said. 

They said the former Gombak MP was already rejected in GE15 when he lost his federal seat to Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari. 

PKR deputy information chief Chua Wei Kiat said Azmin would not fare well if PN nominated him for the post. 

“PN needs to rethink their candidate for the menteri besar position as the GE15 results had shown that Azmin was rejected by the people. 

“He didn’t even retain his parliamentary seat, as it is very clear that the people of Selangor have rejected him,” Chua told The Malaysian Insight. 

PN had reportedly said it had not ruled out the possibility of nominating Azmin for menteri besar if he won in the upcoming state polls. 

Selangor PN election machinery deputy director Zulkafperi Hanafi said the decision rested with the PN leadership. 

Chua does not believe that Azmin would retain the Bukit Antarabangsa seat if he was to contest there again. 

“If he wants to contest in Bukit Antarabangsa, we welcome him, but looking at his strategy, he might go for a safer seat in the rural areas.” 

Chua said that Pakatan Harapan (PH) needed to work harder to retain Selangor. 

“PH can get about 40 to 41 seats. It could be lower than previous polls but we could still retain Selangor if we cooperate with Barisan Nasional. 

“With the unity government, the people of Selangor will choose PH as the prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) is from the coalition,” he said. 

Selangor has 56 seats in the state legislature. 

In 2018, PH won a supermajority of 51 seats and was able to form a government, securing a third term. 

Selangor PKR communication director Lee Chean Chung said PN could nominate whomever for the menteri besar’s post but the people knew PH’s credentials in serving them. 

“Azmin in 2018 had abandoned the menteri besar post and went on to Putrajaya (as minister). 

“Azmin gained fame in Selangor (as menteri besar) with PH, but he jumped ship (Sheraton move). 

“We hope the people will be able to see that Selangorians deserve better.” 

Tough for Azmin 

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said the possibility of Azmin becoming menteri besar could not be ruled out if PN was able to win the majority of seats in Selangor. 

“Based on the GE15 outcome, it is going to be tough for Azmin to retain his seat. 

“He may be active in constituency work, but he failed to retain the Gombak seat in the last general election,” Tunku Mohar said. 

He said the Bukit Antarabangsa seat is totally different as it is urban and friendlier to PH. 

“Azmin may still have some support, but I think there are more Selangorians who view him as a traitor than a likeable menteri besar.” 

He, however, said PN could win seats in rural areas with a strong PAS presence. 

“Some protest votes would still go to it (PN), but overall, PH has a stronger support base with a multitude of programmes for the people. 

“It (PN) will have some impact, but only in the Malay belt of Tanjung Karang and Sungai Besar. Beyond that, it hasn’t gained much support as of now.” 

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia senior lecturer Mazlan Ali said Azmin would be the most suitable candidate for menteri besar to represent PN if they won. 

“This is because he is the most senior politician in Selangor and has experience as menteri besar. 

“However, Azmin will have difficulties in defending his Bukit Antarabangsa seat because it’s an urban area whose voters are very progressive; in addition, the number of non-Malay voters is also significant.” 

Mazlan said the majority of people in Selangor would still support PH. 

He, however, said that with the green wave, there was an increase in Malay support for PN, but it was not enough to allow the coalition to capture Selangor. 

“This is because the demographics of Selangor is more in favour of PH if they collaborate with Umno. 

“PN’s chances are slim because PH still has a strong influence in Selangor,” Mazlan added. – February 7, 2023.