STATE POLLS | The people of Selangor remember the Sheraton Move vividly and are seeking retribution for the downfall of the then Pakatan Harapan federal government, said state Harapan Youth chief Danial Al-Rashid Haron.
Danial (above) claimed that voters are now looking forward to punishing those responsible for the coup - led by some former PKR leaders and Bersatu - and who are now running as Perikatan Nasional candidates in the ongoing state polls.
“The people are still traumatised, still thinking about why the federal government that got the mandate and was supposed to govern for five years could change three times, including the prime minister,” he said.
While campaigning on the ground, Danial said he found out that the people regularly discuss the Sheraton Move and its impact on their lives.
He also said voters are also quite sceptical and wonder if certain candidates would again “betray” the choices they make.
“Therefore most voters said they are now ready to thump the individuals who were involved in the Sheraton Move and are now contesting in Selangor,” he told Malaysiakini.
Danial is Harapan’s candidate for Batu Tiga, where he is up against two other candidates; Bersatu’s Rina Harun and Muda’s Syaidiyah Izzati Nur Razak Maideen.
In 2018’s 14th general election, Rina won the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat as a Bersatu candidate and was appointed minister by party chief Muhyiddin Yassin when the Pagoh MP became prime minister following the Sheraton Move.
In GE15 last year, Rina moved from Titiwangsa to contest in Sepang but was defeated by Harapan’s Aiman Athirah Sabu by nearly 9,000 votes.
Besides Rina, the other individuals who were involved in the Sheraton Move and are contesting the Selangor polls are former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali (Hulu Kelang), Azmin's political secretary Muhammad Hilman Idham (Gombak Setia), and former Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Dr Afifi Bahardin (Taman Medan).
The infamous Sheraton Move was a political coup that took place in 2020, where Bersatu defected from the ruling coalition along with several PKR MPs and joined forces with the opposition to form a new coalition government.
Azmin was one of the masterminds of the putsch, which caused the collapse of the Harapan federal government just short two years in power.
‘What is new about Selangor Baru?’
Meanwhile, Danial added that he was confused by the “Selangor Baru” slogan used by PN to attract voters.
“I wonder what is Selangor Baru? What do you want to do? Is it new, are you changing it from what is already there?
“If the Selangor Baru theme is brought by PN to replace the image of Selangor to be similar to Kedah or Kelantan, I think (they can) forget the dream of winning the state.
“The people of Selangor know how to make evaluations and comparisons. The water issues in Kelantan are enough to give an idea of PN’s performance,” he said.
When asked about the challenges posed by Rina, Danial said the influence of incumbent Batu Tiga assemblyperson Rodziah Ismail was more significant compared to the PN candidate.
He claimed that Rodziah had set such a high benchmark in the state constituency that voters would be “starting from scratch” if they chose a candidate from PN or Muda.
“However, I have worked with Khalid Samad (former Shah Alam MP) since 2008 and we know the affairs of the people here.
“I just have to continue what Rodziah has done,” he said.
Rodziah has been Batu Tiga’s representative since 2008 but will not be defending her seat this time since she won the Ampang parliamentary seat in GE15.
Batu Tiga is one of the two state assembly seats under the Shah Alam parliamentary constituency and has 75,486 registered voters. - Mkini
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