It was 11.35pm. Azmin Ali was addressing a group of some 20 Desa Keramat folks, including senior citizens who appeared to be half-asleep, as part of his Hulu Kelang campaign.

He may be holding a small-scale ‘ceramah kelompok’, but the Selangor Perikatan Nasional chief has a bigger mission in the state polls – to become menteri besar once again, after his stint in the position from 2014 to 2018.

To that end, Azmin’s run for Hulu Kelang instead of defending Bukit Antarabangsa is understandably a calculated move.

While he had been the assemblyperson for Bukit Antarabangsa for three consecutive terms, PN received dismal support from its voters in the last general election compared to Hulu Kelang.

But does this mean Azmin can deliver Hulu Kelang for PN?

David vs Goliath

Azmin is a political giant whose political career began when his contender Juwairiya Zulkifli from PKR was still a toddler.

However, in reality, Azmin may find himself struggling in the battle for Hulu Kelang.

For one, Azmin is still struggling to shake off the ‘traitor’ label painted on him following his defection from PKR in 2020 in the infamous Sheraton Move.

It was this label that was believed to be the main reason why Azmin lost his Gombak seat last year, where he was defeated by Amirudin Shari, his successor as Selangor menteri besar who had a majority of over 12,000 votes.

“I am not a traitor. They (PKR supporters) see me as one just because I stopped supporting Anwar Ibrahim.

“It is him who is the traitor. He was the one who promised to bring down the price of fuel but did not keep his word.

“It was him who said he’d fight against the kleptocrats but ended up appointing one as his deputy prime minister,” Azmin said in a ceramah in an attempt to counter his image as a traitor.

Meanwhile, Juwairiya, who used to work for Azmin, made use of his defection to urge Harapan members and supporters to punish him for betraying them.

“I am only a Pakatan Harapan flag-bearer who is sent here to put an end to Azmin’s political career, and I call all of you to support me because I am ready to serve the constituency,” she said.

Ally discontent

Azmin’s bid for Hulu Kelang may also be hindered by purported discontent with PAS grassroots, who are allegedly upset over PN’s decision to give both Hulu Kelang and Gombak Setia to Bersatu to contest, while the Islamist party only got the Sungai Tua seat.

An insider within Azmin’s camp acknowledged the lack of PAS support for Azmin and in Gombak Setia where his protege Hilman Idham is contesting due to their disappointment in not getting to contest Hulu Kelang.

“There are two reasons why they wanted Hulu Kelang. First, PAS won the seat through Saari Sungib in 2008 and 2013 before he jumped to Amanah, so it is considered a PAS seat.

“Secondly, based on PN’s performance in Gombak during GE15, Hulu Kelang is the safest seat in Gombak compared to the other two,” the source said.

This appeared to be reflected in Malaysiakini’s observation of several PN ceramah in Hulu Kelang, where PAS grassroots support seemed to be minimal, despite the Islamist party machinery’s reputation of going all out during elections.

Stronger machinery

On the other hand, Juwairiya, who is now Amirudin’s political secretary, appears to have a more formidable team with her PKR machinery backed by the Amanah and Gombak BN team.

This was despite an initial hiccup as Harapan made a last-minute decision to parachute the incumbent Bukit Melawati representative to Hulu Kelang, which was considered Amanah’s seat.

While Saari has announced he would not defend the seat due to health reasons, his eldest daughter Anfall, who is Amanah Women vice-chief, had been touted as the candidate of choice to continue her father’s legacy in Hulu Kelang.

Concerned over potential discontent among local Amanah supporters, Juwairiya started her campaign ceramah in Keramat last week, explaining the chronology of how she ended up contesting Hulu Kelang instead of defending Bukit Melawati.

A Gombak Amanah leader admitted to Malaysiakini that there were some issues after the candidate swap, but said the issue was resolved after a coordination meeting.

As such, Juwairiya has been enjoying support in her campaign from Gombak BN leaders such as Gombak Umno vice-chief Feardaus Daud and division committee member Ismail Ahmad, as well as from the Harapan side such as cabinet ministers Fadhlina Sidek and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as well as Amanah’s Nik Omar Nik Abdul Aziz.

Malay-Muslims’ knight saviour

Besides portraying himself as the future Selangor menteri besar, Azmin was seen going around peddling the sentiment that the Malays and Islam are under threat with Harapan-BN in power.

In several ‘ceramah kelompok’ in Malay areas, the Bersatu leader was heard telling Hulu Kelang constituents to vote or else they will lose to the non-Malays.

He has also been trying to portray PN as a knight saviour for the Malay-Muslim cause against the “DAP-controlled” Pakatan Harapan-BN alliance.

“Despite them (non-Malays) being the minority, they can win if the percentage of their voters that come out to cast ballots is high.

“We will lose if our percentage is low, even though we are the majority,” he said.

Azmin is also regaling voters with success stories from his time in the state’s top executive post and making promises of statewide initiatives if PN manages to snatch Selangor from Harapan.

He has been promising a number of goodies and initiatives they would implement as he went on his campaign blitz, especially in Malay-majority areas.

“I promise you, the day we win this state, insyaAllah, I will bring back the waiver for quit rents and licence fees for hawkers and stall operators,” he told his audience.

The former Selangor menteri besar also compared initiatives while he was in power with those of his successor Amirudin who he accused of failing to stem the tide of the rising cost of living.

Double-edged sword

Meanwhile, fielding Juwairiya against Azmin in Hulu Kelang is believed to be a double-edged sword for Anwar.

Having previously served as Azmin’s special officer before working for another defector Zuraida Kamaruddin, Juwairiya is seen by Anwar’s camp in PKR as one of Azmin’s loyalists.

“It is the same strategy during GE15 where PKR put Amirudin against Azmin in Gombak. It is a known fact that Amirudin used to be close to Azmin and was considered his right-hand man.

“Fielding Juwairiya in Hulu Kelang is the best way to make sure she stays loyal (to Anwar) and at the same time, break whatever is left of her political connection with Azmin, if any,” said a political analyst from Universiti Malaya, Awang Azman Awang Pawi.

He told Malaysiakini that at the same time, Harapan would want PKR to take over the battle against Azmin due to operational factors, as the party has relatively large and strong machinery compared to Amanah.

Similarly, Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun said Amanah is a junior party in Harapan and perhaps lacks the political gravitas to take on Azmin.

“Second, fielding somebody who used to be close to Azmin reminds voters that Azmin was a political turncoat and thus, should not be voted in,” he said. MKINI