Anwar engaging a ‘proxy war’ for Gombak, Azmin claims

Incumbent Gombak MP Azmin Ali has struck back with a show of force after PKR announced his opponent for the 15th general election (GE15).

This came after PKR announced that Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari would be facing his former mentor (Azmin) for the Gombak seat on Oct 28.

In a speech last night, Azmin (above) claimed that Amirudin was only given the seat as a “proxy” - in what was previously rumoured to be a showdown between the former and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

“I don't even understand how Gombak became the focus of the entire world. Big names are trying to spy on Gombak and break it up.

“I even welcomed those who wanted to come to Gombak. Those who wanted to send their child or wife, but if you can, bring yourself over to Gombak lah!

“Suddenly, he ran to Perak,” he said, referring to Anwar.

“When I found out who their candidate was, he (Amiruddin) is not that big. He came to Gombak because he was forced to fight a 'proxy war'," he added.

Azmin said this after launching Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) machinery at Padang Taman Pinggiran, Batu Caves.

Leading up to GE15, Anwar had indicated his intention to move from Port Dickson and contest in a seat currently held by "traitors".

This includes seats such as Gombak, Ampang, Batu Pahat and Segamat, among others.

Anwar had since announced his candidacy for the Tambun parliamentary seat in Perak.

During the Oct 28 candidate announcement, PKR revealed that Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, will be defending her Permatang Pauh seat in Penang; while his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will contest in Bandar Tun Razak.

Yesterday’s event saw a few thousand attendees - most of whom adorned party colours and vests.

Some of its machinery - coming from parts of the constituency such as Hulu Kelang - came on motorcycle convoys of 200 people.

While expected to attend the event, PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang eventually did not show up.

Among those spotted at the event were Selangor PAS commissioner and Sejinjang state assemblyperson Ahmad Yunus Hairi, Gombak PAS chief Salehuddin Nasir and Gombak Setia state assemblyperson Muhammad Hilman Idham.

‘Traitor’ label

Azmin, in his speech, had also touched on the “pengkhianat” (traitor) label levelled on him and others who exited the Pakatan Harapan government.

Further, he stressed to the audience the importance of voting on Nov 19.

“The date is very important because the rakyat are at a crossroads of deciding on a new government, making big decisions that will form the government.

“It's not just about choosing a leader, but we want to choose leadership.

“The rakyat can no longer be deceived by BN that led the country for more than six decades and Harapan for 22 months," said Azmin.

Azmin, a former PKR deputy president, had led nine of the party's MPs that defected to join Bersatu during the Sheraton Move in 2020.

Having said that, Azmin said that leadership is often put to the test in times of crisis.

“That's why we in PN rejected GE15 from being held (early) as the country is still recovering,” he added.

On Oct 6, prior to the dissolution of Parliament, 12 cabinet ministers from PN had petitioned the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to not allow the election to be held this year due to flood risks.

“However, due to political greed, the people have to choose and should they choose a government that is in a hurry, it is necessary to have the opinion of others to make a decision," claimed Azmin.

He also briefly spoke on the multi-racial, multi-religious nature of the constituency’s demographics.

In GE14, Azmin defeated BN’s Abdul Rahim Pandak Kamaruddin and PAS’ Khairil Nizam Khirudin with a majority of 48,721 out of 141,112 total votes in Gombak.

The Gombak seat at the time comprised 77 percent Malay voters, followed by 11 percent Chinese, 11 percent Indians, and 1 percent others.

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