Azmin under fire

Despite Azmin's reassurances, the threat of a coup against him is real.

COMMENT

The Selangor Menteri Besar may shrug off the rumours of a possible coup against him from within his own party, but the threat is real.

Azmin Ali has been a key member of PKR since its formation and was a close confidante of Anwar Ibrahim for the most part of his political career. That relationship was probably tested some time during last year’s Menteri Besar crisis.

However, for all the time he has spent as an opposition politician, Azmin is still very much a product of Umno politics, and we see this in his political manoeuvring. Whispers of him speaking to Umno have become par for the course, and his recent backtracking and silence on issues critical to Selangor have called his character into question.

He had a strong start as the MB, taking notes from Indonesian President Joko Widodo on how to connect with people at the ground level. He gave out his number so that residents could report rubbish problems. He was on the scene, happy to address any and all concerns.

And then, suddenly, silence.

The office brought with it the burdens of the Selangor water deal and the unpopular KIDEX highway, and these have become ground where Azmin fears to tread. The people of Selangor were kept in the dark save for a few bombastic statements to ignite the populist sentiment. We do not know the current status of KIDEX, as the project has not been cancelled despite Selangor’s refusal to give approval to the developer to go ahead. The Selangor water deal remains frustratingly opaque, with no solution on the horizon except to accede to the demands of the Federal Government.

His role in the ousting of former Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim is mired in controversy as well, as it is common knowledge that Azmin had always wanted the position and had hoped that he would be installed as MB after GE13. Ironically, the two issues he used against Khalid have now become his biggest bugbears, and he has not fared much better than his predecessor in handling those issues.

More important, however, is that he is not in favour with the members of Anwar’s family. PKR is split between those in favour of Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah and those who favour Azmin for the loyalty he has shown to the cause. At every turn since the incarceration of Anwar, Azmin and Azizah have moved separately of each other, neither seemingly expressing support for the effort of the other.

There are those in the party who do not want to see a man as ambitious as Azmin lead. In all fairness, over abundance of ambition can lead to disastrous failure, and Azmin is in the same danger as any other over ambitious politician. Azmin’s consorting with the enemy is seen as a threat in these times, when the opposition coalition is about to split apart. It is no wonder that some want him gone.

Azmin has a long way to go in gaining the trust of everyone. His failure to do so and his ambition have led to segments of his own party moving against him. Sooner or later, someone will find the chink in his armour. Hopefully, though, this internal strife will not mean the end of PKR as we know it.