By Zareef Muzammil
AMPANG, Oct 30 — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) supporters have described Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari as the best candidate to contest the Gombak parliamentary seat in the coming 15th general election following his proven track record as the Selangor Menteri Besar for four years.
Ampang PKR Youth chief Muhd Iman Haziq Hamizi, 27, said he believes that the party vice-president has a good chance of winning the seat to replace the incumbent, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, who had betrayed the people’s mandate following the ‘Sheraton Move’.
Although he acknowledged that there would be fierce competition, he stated that the Gombak people are more likely to choose a leader who is committed to the party’s cause.
“I keep up with the developments in Gombak, and it can be said that because the incumbent broke the people’s trust, the sentiment of the traitors is particularly sensitive for the local people.
“Logically speaking, the people would undoubtedly reject the leader who betrayed them. With securing a large majority for the Sungai Tua state seat in the last election, placing Amirudin in Gombak is an excellent decision.
“InsyaAllah (God willing), the people of Gombak will choose wisely. Especially since he (Amirudin) has been working aggressively all this while. I am confident that he would work hard to ensure that PKR would reclaim Gombak,” he said when met.
The treasury of Wanita PKR Kuala Langat division, Azizah Din, 53, said that aside from the “Sheraton Move” causing the fall of the Pakatan Haran (PH) federal government, she said that Amirudin’s age difference and work ethics would be some of the factors for him to being the choice of the Gombak people.
“Amirudin has come up with many initiatives that have had a positive impact on the people in Selangor, particularly the low-income (B40) group and single mothers, such as the Bantuan Kehidupan Sejahtera Selangor (Bingkas) programme.
“This could be the driving force for the people to vote for him, especially given that the incumbent was disloyal and had affected the support and confidence of the people. Therefore, there are high hopes of him winning in Gombak,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ampang division vice-head Vincent Yap, 49, said that he is drawn by the Menteri Besar’s ideas and brave move in developing the various people-centric initiatives, which would help increase chances of reclaiming the federal seat.
“It is a tough fight but I am 100 per cent confident that he would be able to win the people’s votes and defeat his contenders.
“He had administered the state very well and was bold in implementing new ideas for the people, such as the free Covid-19 immunisation efforts,” he said.
On Friday, Amirudin was announced as the PKR candidate for the Gombak parliamentary seat and is expected to contest against Mohamed Azmin, who switched parties and was among those behind the “Sheraton Move”, which led to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020.
Gombak is a Malay-majority federal seat with several mixed urban and suburban areas across Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
