Acid test for first-time general Azmin

GE14 | Since taking the reigns of Selangor in 2014, caretaker menteri besar Mohamed Azmin Ali has kept a low profile. 

He has not been one for state assembly grandstanding, shunning interviews and seemingly prefers low-key public engagements.

Most of the Azmin-administration's new initiatives have come with the “peduli rakyat” (cares for the rakyat) slogan, aimed at reaching his key target audience - the poor, and Malays living in Umno strongholds.

But now that he is the leader of Selangor Pakatan Harapan’s election campaign, the gloves are off and Selangorians are getting to see the tough-talking and charismatic side of Azmin, which was mostly shelved when he took office. 

Without a clear idea of who from BN would be challenging him for menteri besar-ship, Azmin has been training his guns on BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak at every opportunity, often urging voters to compare the behaviour of the former's own wife - Shamshida Taharin - with the first lady Rosmah Mansor. 

Shamshida, who has mostly kept away from the public eye, has been spotted at many of Azmin’s campaign stops, often sitting inconspicuously in the front row.

“Selangor’s reserves have increased from RM600 million to RM4 billion… I didn’t buy a yacht. I didn’t buy handbags,” Azmin said in a speech in Morib on Wednesday.

“I didn’t even buy a ring for my wife during my tenure as menteri besar,” he added, as Shamsidar beamed nearby, dimples clearly showing. 

From policies to personality, Azmin’s stump speeches continuously invited listeners to compare him and Najib, while positioning the latter in the receiving end of most of his punchlines.

Azmin kicked off his campaign by spending the first two days in his own constituencies of Gombak and Bukit Antarabangsa before embarking on a whirlwind tour which often sees him cross state lines to help allies.

At every stop, his drives home the message that his administration was cleaner, more efficient and more people-friendly against a federal administration that was tainted by the 1MDB affair, the RM2.6 billion donation and Felda’s woes.

"Both Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak Hussein were prime ministers and Umno presidents too, but they did not have RM2.6 billion in their account.

“Abdul Razak would have choked Najib (with his hands) if he were here today," said Azmin.

Azmin: I am not competing with Abdul Khalid

Although Azmin was capable of projecting himself as an inclusive leader who embraced diversity, he is not afraid of hot button issues when it comes to a Malay crowd.

However, at a high-tea event with his constituents at AU3 Keramat, where more than 90 percent of the voters are Malay, he lambasted Najib over the tax reliefs granted to the China-owned contractors for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.

"I want to ask Muslim, how can you conspire with a traitor? China, a communist state which secured RM55 billion contract, was granted an exemption on GST.

“Meanwhile, our people - taxi drivers, fishermen, farmers, public servants, Malaysian and Bumiputra - have to pay GST. Najib is the sole traitor!” he told some 1,000 people at the event.

For Azmin, this election was not about doing better than his predecessor, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, which led the defunct Pakatan Rakyat to a landslide victory, securing 44 out of 56 legislative assembly seats.

“I am not competing (with my predecessor),” he told Malaysiakini in a recent interview.

“Our goal was to ensure Harapan governs Selangor.”

Asked if he was confident about leading the coalition’s campaign for the first time, Azmin said that he was no stranger to this role.

"I had been entrusted as the election director by the party three times. So I am familiar with the process.”

The goal for Azmin was to ensure Harapan secured at least 40 seats in Selangor, while BN’s stated goal was 35.

Azmin’s goal was a difficult one, given that PAS was no longer an ally and that the electoral boundaries had been redrawn. 

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia associate prof Faisal S Hazis said Azmin’s need to burnish his Malay and Islamic credentials should come as no surprise as the latter understood Malay insecurities.

"He projects himself as an inclusive leader but he knows very well he needs to project strong image (among the Malay). He understands the fear among some Malays who worries that DAP maybe so dominant.

"He wants to show, while we stand on an inclusive platform, he safeguards the interest of the Malays as enshrined in the Federal Constitution," he said. 

Azmin's ability to provide leadership in Selangor, unlike BN which refused to name its menteri besar candidate, was among the reason Selangorians' will likely return him to power, Faisal said. - Mkini