War drums start in Tanjung Karang

IT was a beautiful night as the full moon glowed above Tanjung Karang but the war drums have begun on the ground.

From the way Selangor PAS secretary Roslan Shahir - the emcee for the night - was going on, it seemed like the green wave in Selangor would begin in Tanjung Karang where Perikatan Nasional launched its Selangor campaign last weekend.

The irony is that it is being triggered by Tan Sri Noh Omar, the former Umno warlord of Tanjung Karang.

Sacked from Umno and treated like “sampah” (garbage), as he put it, Noh has emerged as a pivotal figure in Perikatan’s siege of Selangor.

The two state seats in the Tanjung Karang area - Permatang, currently held by PKR and Sungai Burung, held by Umno - are set to fall to Perikatan.

There is often the misconception that the whole of Selangor is like Petaling Jaya but Selangor’s Malay heartland is as Malay as it gets. There are 33 seats with 60% or more Malay voters and which are vulnerable to the green wave.

Noh shared the stage that evening with bigwigs from Perikatan including PAS state chief and Kuala Langat MP, Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, as well as Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali who is the Selangor Perikatan chairman.

Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim also made a dramatic appearance, wearing dark sunglasses and a black bush suit. The rumour is that he is keen to contest in Semenyih.

The star attraction was Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor but Noh brought the "oomph" effect to the evening.

“Noh feels the heartbeat of the Malay heartland, he’ll be the driving force,” said an aide to a former minister.

It was an entirely Malay crowd of about 5,000, with many people in their thirties and forties. They were not the typical PAS crowd going by the attire of the women in their floral baju kurung and modern-style tudung.

Asked whether this sort of crowd used to belong to Umno, Noh said in that brusque style of his: “Umno never had this kind of crowd.”

Panic bells went off in neighbouring Sungai Besar where the Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos questioned Noh’s new political direction and said Selangor Umno would not mind having Noh back.

“What is more important is how much of the Pakatan Harapan vote will swing in the state elections,” said Selangor’s new Perikatan secretary Dr Afif Bahardin.

There were two potential poster boys on the stage - Dr Ahmad Yunus and Mohamed Azmin.

Mohamed Azmin, looking as youthful as the day he first became mentri besar of Selangor, has said that he is taking a break but nobody believes that and he is expected to run in Hulu Kelang.

The crowd erupted in cheers when he told Noh: “What are you waiting for, join us now”.

Politics is a strange sport because just a few years ago, Mohamed Azmin had slammed Noh as “spesis terakhir,” meaning that Noh would be extinct soon.

The attack game has always belonged to those in the opposition and bullets were whizzing through the night at the unity government.

Speakers likened Pakatan’s unfulfilled election promises to “scams”. One of them said the Prime Minister should “not be running here and there talking about corruption when the man sitting beside him is facing corruption charges”.

The Perikatan leaders are also sensitive about their image as an all-Malay coalition. They said if 95% of Chinese voted for DAP, 90% of Malays could also vote for PAS and Bersatu.

They reminded Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari not to forget it was Mohamed Azmin who put him there.

This is what Amirudin is up against in the state election. He has done a reasonable job in Selangor but can he hold the fort against such a fierce opposition featuring personalities more glamorous than him?

“The MB took over under challenging circumstances. He had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and the political instability. He is a responsive leader who engages with the grassroots. Give him the space to deliver,” said Kota Anggerik assemblyman Najwan Halimi.

There has been speculation that Amirudin could be replaced.

A news report claiming that PKR supreme council member Datuk Romli Ishak could take over spread like a forest fire a month ago. But Romli is known to have met Amiruddin to explain that he had nothing to do with the news portal report. Besides, he is still looking high and low for a seat to contest.

Another potential candidate is Tanjung Sepat assemblyman and state exco member Borhan Aman Shah. However, Borhan’s credentials are rather modest and he has assured Amirudin he is not lobbying for the post.

Another aspirant, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is believed to be out of the running. Tengku Zafrul has been pulling cables and dropping names for a seat but it is inconceivable that Umno can win enough seats to justify making him the mentri besar.

Amirudin has yet to receive an assurance from the Prime Minister about his situation.

However, the signal from the Palace is that if there is to be new mentri besar, the person must preferably have experience as a state exco or has served a term as an assemblyman. Selangor is too important and complex to be placed in the hands of a greenhorn.

The Palace may not be ready for a woman mentri besar which effectively throws cold water on rumours that Nurul Izzah Anwar may join the fray.

This places Amirudin as a forerunner for the hot seat.

But can Amirudin win over the Malay heartland? Can he rise to the challenge of doing battle with the likes of Noh and Mohamed Azmin?

Will they swallow him for breakfast or will he show them he is the one that Selangor prefers?

> The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own