'Azmin not fleeing Gombak, seat is still safe'

Talk about Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali possibly contesting in the 'safer' Shah Alam parliamentary seat have raised concerns that the two-term parliamentarian is afraid that he may lose in his Gombak seat at the coming general election.

Azmin is seen as facing a problem in defending Gombak as it is a stronghold of PAS. The Islamist party has severed ties with PKR and is seen as increasingly BN-friendly.

The relationship between the Azmin-led Selangor government and PAS worsened after the former reportedly cut the annual allocations for PAS state and federal lawmakers in the state.

When contacted, Selangor PKR communications bureau chief Nor Hizwan Ahmad denied that Azmin was facing a bleaker chance in retaining his seat, adding there was no need for Azmin to flee Gombak.

"We will not run to Shah Alam," Nor Hizwan said when asked if new developments were affecting Azmin's chances for re-election in Gombak.

'Azmin's popularity on the rise'

He said Azmin's popularity had been on the rise from the day he took office as menteri besar and his performance resonated with the grassroots.

"He won with a majority of 4,734 votes in the last general election, so that makes Gombak a pretty safe seat. He will be able to retain it despite the ongoing re-delineation exercise which is meant to disadvantage Harapan.

"Azmin can win again in Gombak and if not with a bigger majority, then with a similar majority as in the last election," said Nor Hizwan, adding there was no need to worry about PAS working against Azmin.

Azmin had on Sunday offered Pakatan Harapan PM-designate Dr Mahathir Mohamad his Gombak seat, 'out of courtesy', as some had pointed out that it would best for coalition if the former prime minister won in the polls and this would be best achieved by standing in a safe seat.

However, observers pointed out that two out of three state seats under the Gombak parliamentary constituency - Gombak Setia and Ulu Kelang - were won by PAS in 2013.

They noted that PAS has repeatedly said it intends to reclaim Gombak following the falling out between the Islamist party and PKR in May last year.

Azmin 's 4,734-vote majority in Gombak in 2013 came up to 51.4 percent of the total votes cast.

Besides Gombak, Azmin is also the representative for Bukit Antarabangsa, a state seat under the Ampang parliamentary seat.

When contacted, Selangor PKR deputy chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said the state leadership never discussed the possibility of Azmin moving to Shah Alam.

"Knowing him, he will like to remain at Gombak and Bukit Antarabangsa," said Zuraida, the Ampang MP.- Mkini