Will BN, PN spring surprise in Selangor?
MOHD IZZATUL IZUAN TAHIR
SHAH ALAM - The heat has been turned up in Selangor as it becomes the centre of attention following heavyweight candidates being fielded by political parties in the state for the 15th General Election (GE15).
Of course, in Gombak, which will be the main focus will witness the clash between the seat's incumbent Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Azmin who once held the Selangor Menteri Besar post from Sept 23, 2014 to June 19, 2018, won the seat since 2008.
However, there were predictions that the seat may "change hands" to Amirudin who is representing Pakatan Harapan (PH).
The Gombak Parliament is well known as one of PH's strongholds in Selangor when Azmin who contested on the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket in GE14 won a majority of 48,721 votes defeating BN and Pas candidates.
Azmin, who later joined Bersatu and now contesting under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket which is a collaboration between Bersatu and Pas is facing a difficult task to defend the seat.
In GE14, Pas was only able to gain 17,537 votes compared to PKR, in which Azmin contested and gained 75,113 votes.
This means that Azmin has to work hard if he wants to defend the seat, especially when he is facing a five-cornered fight.
Of course, there will be a split in votes involving three other candidates, namely Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omar Din (BN), Jamaludin Mohd Tahir (Pejuang) and Zulkifli Ahmad (Independent)
Another focus in the state is the Sungai Buloh Parliament which will witness BN's caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin contesting.
Khairy who previously defended the Rembau seat since 2008 is seen as capable of making a surprise in the constituency which was previously won by S.Sivarasa with a majority of 26,634 votes in GE14.
In GE15, Sivarasa is not contesting and this gives an advantage to Khairy to woo voters in the area even more as he is Health Minister and has succeeded to lead the Covid-19 Immunisation Programme until Malaysia became among the countries in Southeast Asia to achieve herd immunity.
The Oxford University graduate also stated that he wants to lead the country one day and this might make Sungai Buloh voters open their eyes and give way to Khairy to start building his authority at the constituency.
Not to forget, the Kuala Selangor Parliament which will witness a four-cornered fight with the presence of two heavyweights namely the incumbent, former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad from PH and the caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz from BN.
It is a hot seat in the election as it often changed hands between BN and PH.
In GE12, the constituency which is BN's stronghold finally fell into the hands of Dzulkefly who won the seat in 2008.
However, in GE13, BN fielded Datuk Seri Irmohizam Ibrahim who managed to defeat Dzulkefly, but the political tsunami that hit the country saw Dzulkefly win the seat again defeating Irmohizam in GE14.
Winning a majority by 8,498 votes in GE14 is not considered a comfortable position for Dzulkefly, especially with the increase in new voters and Undi18.
In terms of the campaign materials and machinery, of course, BN is ahead, but in the political aspect, anything is possible.
Apart from Tengku Zafrul and Dzulkefly, there are two other candidates contesting in the constituency.
They are Jeram state assemblyman from Pejuang, Mohd Shaid Rosli and Mohd Noor Mohd Sahar (PN-Pas) whom both of have their own strengths.
Another constituency to focus on is Shah Alam which involves BN candidate Hizatul Hisham Abd Jalil or better known as Isham Jalil who will be contesting against three new faces and former Penang state assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin.
The Shah Alam parliamentary seat is considered a stronghold of PH when its former candidate, former federal territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad in GE14, won with a majority of 33,849 votes.
Politicians predict that the seat may be won by Isham who is deemed a "popular" candidate in the constituency, but did not rule out the possibility that PH will maintain the seat but with a lower winning majority.
The political scenario in Selangor this time also witnessed Selangor Umno chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar being dropped from contesting to defend the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat he held for six terms from 1995.
Disappointment
Many have assumed that the Tanjong Karang parliamentary constituency which is BN's stronghold is starting to "wobble" following voters' disappointment that Noh is not contesting in GE15.
In fact, the voters in Tanjong Karang felt that the GE15 campaign was more gloomy than the previous election.
Wanita Umno division chief Datuk Habibah Mohd Yusof who will be replacing Noh said she is confident that the voters would be "sulking" temporarily and will come back to strengthen BN.
Habibah or more fondly known as "mama" among young voters wants to prove herself as a "winnable candidate" within BN.
The seat will see a five-cornered fight with Datuk Dr Zulkapferi Hanafi (PN), Siti Rahayu Baharin (PH), Azlan Sani Zawawi or Lando (Pejuang) and Independent candidate Mohd Rosni Mastol.
For GE15, Selangor may be a benchmark in the state election whether PH will continue to govern the state or not.
BN is certainly aiming to win at least 10 of the 22 parliamentary seats in Selangor while PH wants to maintain its GE14 triumphant momentum.
As for PN, this is a signal for the people to choose the party to lead the country in the future.
However, the extent to which GE15 can attract the support of voters in Selangor is even more so with the rivals of other political parties that are equally impressive.
The choice is in your hands, let's exercise our responsibility by going out to vote this Saturday!.
