KUALA LUMPUR – The three state seats under the Gombak parliamentary constituency are Selangor’s hot seats in the August 12 election for their symbolism in the fight between the unity government parties and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Sg Tua, Hulu Kelang, and Gombak Setia are seats that can be taken as a referendum on the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance or PN, political analyst Prof Sivamurugan Pandian said to Bernama.
“These are the seats that could be the referendum and the focus to analyse the voting trend in predominantly urban Malay seats. These are important seats for any block to secure wins as a sign of majority support,” he told the national news agency.
The Gombak parliamentary seat, which was won by PH’s Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari in the 2022 general election, has more than 70% Malay voters, and as an urban area, will be a testbed for the impact of PN’s “green wave” outside rural Malay areas.
Sivamurugan said the unique demographics of voters in the three state seats can prove the true level of support for each competing party.
“I agree it could be described as the mother of all battles for this polls in which we will see whether PH can defend its stronghold or PN can succeed in seizing it,” he told Bernama on the focus given to the three seats.
Gombak is also significant as the constituency that launched the careers of two Selangor menteris besar, namely Amirudin and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali. Both are contesting different state seats in Gombak.
Gombak incumbent MP Amirudin wrested the federal seat from PN’s Azmin, who held it for three terms. Azmin was menteri besar from 2014 to 2018.
Both Azmin and Amirudin were in PKR. However, Azmin was sacked by the party in February 2020 before joining Bersatu, which then formed the PN bloc with PAS and Gerakan.
Of the three state seats under Gombak, Sg Tua will be defended by Amirudin, who was first elected its assemblyman in 2008 when the seat went by its old name, Batu Caves.
In this state election, Amirudin will be challenged by PN’s Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin and independent candidate G. Suman.
If Amirudin wins, he will be PH’s candidate for menteri besar again, as announced by coalition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In Hulu Kelang, Azmin, who has moved from the Bukit Antarabangsa seat, will face former Bukit Melawati assemblyman Juwairiya Zulkifli, the Wanita PKR deputy head now seen as taking on her former party boss in this election.
In Gombak Setia, BN’s Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, the Selangor Umno chief, will go against the seat’s former assemblyman Hilman Idham from PN, and independent candidate Mohamed Salim Mohamed Ali.
It is a rematch for Zulkarnain and Hilman, who faced each other in the 2018 election. Hilman is a close ally of Azmin’s, and was formerly PKR Youth deputy chief before the Sheraton Move in 2020.
The state seats under Gombak will be closely watched for the heavyweight candidates, some of them former friends turned foes, and whether Amirudin can obtain a second term as menteri besar.
It was no wonder that Anwar and PN chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin both turned up at the nomination centre at SMK Sg Pusu, Gombak, yesterday, to rally the troops for the fierce contest ahead.
Even unity government allies from East Malaysia, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, showed up together with other federal leaders to support PH-BN candidates at the nomination centre yesterday.
Hajiji also gave clear instructions to Sabahans voting in the peninsula to choose PH-BN candidates. – The Vibes, July 30, 2023
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