ZURAIDA Kamaruddin has been Ampang lawmaker for three terms, beginning as an opposition MP when she first contested in the 2008 general election and now a minister.

It is, however, uncertain now if voters in this urban constituency would continue to back her in the next general election following her defection from PKR during the “Sheraton move” in February 2020, which also saw the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

Many voters are still angry with her over this, a situation that her former party PKR thinks it can take advantage of to win the seat.

At the same time, there is also uncertainty as to where Zuraida’s political future lies – with Bersatu, the newly formed Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) or to where her followers and aides have defected to.

Ampang parliamentary office officer Muhammad Faiz Abd Majid told The Malaysian Insight that some of Zuraida’s staff have joined PBM.

The former Ampang PKR Youth chief said this was because Bersatu did not process the membership application of former PKR members who wanted to join Bersatu along with Zuraida.

“The grassroots ask about membership but we can’t explain, so the plan is this new party PBM. It is our platform.

“We are members of Bersatu but the membership is not confirmed. I have applied for several years now and I still don’t have a membership card,” he said.

Following her defection from PKR, Zuraida was made housing and local government minister in the Perikatan Nasional administration led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

At the same time, she also launched the Penggerak Komuniti Negara (PKN) civil society group to “park” her followers who had left PKR.

A total of 53,000 PKN members later joined PBM last month, although Zuraida is quiet about her future plans.

She is now serving as the industries, plantations and commodities ministers in the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration.

Faiz, touted as a possible Ampang PBM division chief, said PKN members were more comfortable with the pluralist platform offered by the new party.

The movement is also better than Bersatu, which is specific to one race, he said.

“We have to be real and in Malaysia we have friends of various races. If a party is considered racist, we do not want such a party.

“We want to join a party with a multiracial attitude,” he said.

Ampang parliamentary service centre officer Salmah Ismail is confident that Zuraida can retain her seat in GE15.

“Our focus is of course to win and retain Zuraida. She has proven her service to the community here.

“The community is happy with Zuraida’s services, and we know how far will respond to her. If not she would not have been here for three terms,” she said.

The former Ampang PKR women’s chief also said Zuraida’s victory was definitely due to the support of voters from various parties, not from PKR alone.

“Zuraida won (all this time) not necessarily (because) only PKR people voted for her. The victory also came from other parties, Umno or PAS members.

“The community is good at evaluating. They see a responsible leader, they accept Zuraida.

“The political landscape is different but we keep it our way. Zuraida is here with the same service, no voters excluded,” she said.

Salmah also said claims of Zuraida’s involvement with PBM were not true.

“We are under the national community mobiliser, 100% with this civil society group. Zuraida has nothing to do with PBM,” she added.

Advantage to PKR

Meanwhile, Lembah Jaya PKR coordinator Daing Muhammad Reduan Bachok said the current situation was not in Zuraida’s favour even with the formation of PBM.

He expects the competition in Ampang to be tight, with opportunities opening for parties that worked hard to attract voters.

“There is a bit of distrust among voters towards PKR after the ‘Sheraton move’ but as a party, we have explained to them what happened.

“The betrayal was not committed by the party, but individuals. They chose to leave PKR and form Perikatan Nasional, and now it has happened again. PBM has been set up,” he said.

PKR not only lost the Ampang parliamentary seat but also two state constituencies under it – Bukit Antarabangsa under Mohamed Azmin Ali and Lembah Jaya, represented by Haniza Mohamed Talha.

Azmin, who was one of the brains behind “Sheraton move”, is now Bersatu vice-president while Haniza, who was allegedly in Zuraida’s camp, joined PBM.

Daing said Azmin and Zuraida’s decision to remain in Bersatu was only to preserve their respective cabinet positions.

“Although she (Zuraida) is not on the list (PBM leadership) but her lieutenant (senior person) is in PBM.

“Zuraida became minister on a Bersatu ticket. If she leaves, Bersatu will take her post. That is why she didn’t want to leave Bersatu. This is what is happening now,” said Daing.

The situation, Daing said, showed Zuraida has disadvantages in Ampang because her grassroots are now split between Bersatu and PBM.

“That gives PKR an advantage. We have no issues at the grassroots level.

“The problem for them, Bersatu and PBM, is that Zuraida’s team has broken up. Some remained in Bersatu and some left, so Zuraida’s strength is diminishing.

“That I can confirm. Now they are fighting with each other,” he said.

He said PKR has strengthened its position, and is even confident of winning the seat.

PKR has also placed a line of successors, led by Selangor executive councillor Rodziah Ismail as the party coordinator in Ampang.

Also trying his luck is Hans Isaac, the former chairman of the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation. He is active at the grassroots level through the Kita Budak Ampang civil society group.

The actor, who joined PKR in February last year, also introduced the song and video clip Kita Budak Ampang on YouTube.

“If you follow the party channel, Rodziah is the coordinator in Ampang. She is one step ahead of Isaac. Anyone can move and demand but the party will decide.

“He is also moving and he has a good team. We work together. We are open to anyone who is interested but Rodziah has the advantage,” he said.

Angry voters

Ampang voters met by The Malaysian Insight admitted they were angry with Zuraida’s defection from PKR.

They have mixed feelings about voting for Zuraida again, but PKR is gaining the upper hand.

Ahmadi Ramlan, an employee with a government-linked company, said he would not vote for Zuraida again.

Ahmadi said he was disappointed to see the “Sheraton move” after backing Zuraida in the last general election.

He said he voted for Zuraida because the former PKR women’s wing chief was contesting on a PH ticket.

“I voted for Zuraida because she represented PH, but I cannot accept her leaving the party,” he added.

Another voter, Siti Salwani Abdul Rahman, said that although she was disappointed with Zuraida’s action, she would still choose the minister for her excellent service in the area.

“For me, Zuraida did her job well, although I was personally disappointed when she left PKR and joined Bersatu.

“When needed, she is quick to assist voters.

“I like her personality as an elected representative and I will definitely vote for her,” said the retired civil servant.

Both of them are also confident that PKR will be able to put their representatives back in Ampang. – January 19, 2022.