The Malaysian Insight

GOMBAK voters are disappointed with their MP, Mohamed Azmin Ali, who seems to be too busy politicking rather than looking into the welfare of his constituents.

They told The Malaysian Insight that Azmin is now a power-crazy leader unlike who he was before.

A retiree, who only wanted to be known as Md Amin, said Azmin’s performance now as Gombak MP is different compared to before he became a minister.

The 65-year-old said after Azmin became a senior minister within the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, he began to ignore voters, rarely went to his constituency and is no longer concerned with their welfare.

“The Azmin we know now is different from before. He is power crazy.

“His performance is not the same as he is different compared to the last three elections,” he said, referring to Azmin’s 2008 win in Gombak and successful defence of the seat in the following two general elections until 2018.

Amin said Gombak has numerous issues, from water problems to floods and land issues in Kg Mulia, which need the MP’s attention.

“Recently, several houses were flooded and there are many senior citizens living in the area but he did not come to look at the condition here,” he said.

“There is also the water issue. He never came to ask the people how the situation was. If it was the old Azmin he would have definitely addressed the problem.

“Another issue is that at Kg Mulia, they had built low-cost housing on the villagers’ land and were selling the units to outsiders.”

Amin said it did not come as a surprise to him that a group of voters are suing Azmin.

“He is being sued not because he is hated. We are forcing him to pay attention to what is happening in Gombak,” he said.

Earlier this week, 10 voters in Gombak sued Azmin for deceit and breach of fiduciary duty.

The voters want a declaration that the senior minister owes them a fiduciary duty as an elected representative.

They also want a declaration that Azmin committed the tort of deceit against them and that he had violated his constitutional oath under Article 59(1) of the federal constitution.

In their statement of claim, their bone of contention is that Azmin made a representation that he was standing for election in 2018 to oust the then Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and to free Malaysia of corrupt officials.

Azmin, however, caused the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in February and joined the PN administration, which included BN and people he himself acknowledged were “credibly accused of corrupt practices”.

Azmin joined the new PN government formed by Bersatu together with BN and PAS, and was supported by parties from Sarawak and Sabah.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as prime minister on March 1, after which he appointed Azmin as senior minister and international trade and industry minister.

Trader Azil Haniff, 42 expressed his frustration over Azmin’s betrayal of PH.

He said leaving PH was a betrayal to Gombak voters and Azmin does not seem to be doing anything to atone for his wrongdoings.

“I voted for him because I believed in him and then he betrayed me, he betrayed the voters and left us.”

When asked about Gombak Setia assemblyman Muhammad Hilman Idham’s performance, Azil said that it was the same as his boss.

“He is too busy taking care of the boss until he forgets he is the assemblyman for this area,” he said.

On whether Azmin still has a chance to defend his seat in the next general election, Azil said it is difficult to predict anything.

He said this is because the people of Gombak are in a dilemma as there is no denying that Azmin had previously helped his constituents.

“It is difficult, because Azmin had helped the people before he became a minister,” he said.

Another Gombak resident who only wanted to be known as Zolnaidah, 65, said she is not thinking about Azmin’s chances in Gombak.

“Now it’s really hard to see Azmin. No one has heard anything or whatever programme he is doing. There used to be a lot of aid programmes during the festivities.

“But right now, there is none. But I want to say he has support for the election,” said Zolnaidah, a Gombak resident since 1965.

Azmin also sparked controversy when he attacked his protégé, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

Azmin, who is also former Selangor menteri besar, relinquished his position to Amirudin during his transition to become a minister after PH’s victory in the 14th general election.

He claimed to have given Amirudin the opportunity to become the menteri besar even though he was not on the list of the preferred candidates.

However, Amirudin’s special officer, Saifudin Shafi, said the opportunity was given to him based on good performance and the confidence he has to lead the state.

“The Malays are taught to be sincere and appreciative of the work and goodness of other people and to help them better themselves.

“We should, however, also realise that this position is also because of the party,” Saifudin added. – December 5, 2020.