KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for the Ampang parliamentary seat, Rodziah Ismail, is capitalising on the incumbent Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin’s “betrayal” of the coalition in the Sheraton Move as both are set to clash in the coming general election.
Ampang voters should reject “traitors”, even if they are former ministers, Rodziah told Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal.
“I think this is the time for the people and voters in Ampang to step up and say, ‘we don’t trust those who break our trust’.
“Traitors don’t belong here,” said Rodziah, who is from PKR and is the incumbent Batu Tiga assemblyman in Selangor.
She did not mention Zuraida by name, but the latter is one of nine candidates vying for the seat. Zuraida has held Ampang for three terms since 2008, but quit PKR in 2020 as part of the Sheraton Move that toppled the PH federal government.
Rodziah said her manifesto for Ampang voters includes pledges to address the rising cost of living, economic problems, employment, housing, and education.
PKR’s Ukay Perdana machinery head, Che Zainol Ahmad, said Zuraida’s defection from the party in 2020 had angered many locals here.
“I was once a supporter of Zuraida myself, but because of her deception, everyone, including myself, is furious,” he told The Vibes after nomination day yesterday.
After quitting PKR, Zuraida joined Bersatu and remained a minister under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government that ousted PH. She has since quit Bersatu, and is now with Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), on whose ticket she is contesting in Ampang.
Even though she won Ampang under a different banner, PBM is claiming the seat as its own, and its Pahang information chief Faizal Helmi said this was because Zuraida was a proven candidate due to having served as MP for three terms.
“It is evident that Zuraida has accomplished much. She is known in every house and alley in Ampang for the assistance she has provided,” said Faizal.
But given her track record of party-hopping, former supporters from PN now say Zuraida has not fulfilled her responsibilities.
A group of Taman Ampang Mewah residents, who are also PN members, said she did not pay attention to community-related matters.
“Our apartment building in Taman Ampang Mewah is neglected, it has not been painted and the hall we requested never materialised,” one of the residents said on condition of anonymity.
The main battle for Ampang will be between Rodziah and Zuraida, but it might be a close call with seven other candidates in the fray.
They are Ivone Low from Barisan Nasional, PN’s Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif, Nurul Ashikin Mabahwi from Pejuang, Warisan’s Lai Wai Chong, and independent candidates Muhammad Shafiq Izwan Mohd Yunos, Tan Hua Meng, and M Raveendran. – The Vibes, November 6, 2022
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