GOMBAK: Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali is not letting his guard down, despite being a three-term incumbent of the Gombak parliamentary seat.
Although he has a certain degree of advantage being the incumbent for the seat, Azmin said the voters these days are very mature and wanted to see who can serve them and the constituency better.
"They also want candidates that can form a government that is clean, strong, and concerned about the well-being of the people," he told reporters after the nomination process.
Azmin said he did his best for the people in Gombak, and is putting hope in them to continue supporting him.
Asked about the momentum on the ground, Azmin said; "So far, the response is quite convincing but I must continue to work hard and never take it for granted.
"The voters' maturity today is quite high."
The Gombak parliamentary seat will see a five-cornered fight.
Azmin will be challenged by four contestants, including his former party-mate, at the seat where he is seeking re-election for the fourth term.
He will be facing Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari of Pakatan Harapan (PH), Datuk Dr Aziz Jamaludin Mhd Tahir (Pejuang), Zulkifli Ahmad who is standing as an Independent, and Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin (Barisan Nasional).
Amirudin is Azmin's former party-mate back in PKR and current Selangor Menteri Besar.
Meanwhile, asked if he has any words for Amirudin, Azmin replied; "He is one of the candidates, a dear friend of mine.
"(And) certainly, I would expect all the candidates to conduct their campaigns following the procedures of the Election Commission.
"I believe that the campaign process will be smooth."
In the 14th general election, Azmin polled 75,113 votes for the seat on a PKR ticket against Datuk Abdul Rahim Kamarudin from BN and Khairil Nizam from Pas.
He had secured a majority of 48,721 votes.
However, in March 2020, he led 10 MPs from PKR to defect to Bersatu, in what has come to be known as the Sheraton Move.
Polling day for GE15 is set for Nov 19, with early voting on Nov 15.