Your wife, child or better still yourself: Azmin welcomes challengers in Gombak

International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali today welcomed any challenge for his parliamentary seat of Gombak in the 15th general election (GE15), in an apparent reference to PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim who recently said he could contest the Malay majority seat.

He also hit out at Anwar who had said that he would leave his own seat of Port Dickson to contest a seat held by a "traitor".

"Whoever wants to come to Gombak, please do," he said in his speech to officiate Bersatu's election machinery in Shah Alam today.

"I am a man. If you want to send your wife or your children, too, go ahead. 

"If you are brave enough, come yourself." 

Azmin won the Gombak seat in 2018, beating candidates from PAS and Umno with a majority of 48,721 votes.

He was labelled a trator after leading a group of MPs out of PKR in 2020, during the Sheraton Move which saw the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government after the resignation of then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

Azmin, who is now a member of the Bersatu Supreme Council, said the real traitor was one who did not respect the people's mandate by contesting a seat that had already been won by someone else. 

He also mocked the by-election in Port Dickson arranged after Anwar received a royal pardon in 2018. 

Anwar won that election after its incumbent, Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, stepped aside. 

Azmin said Anwar's desire to replace the prime minister at the time before the Apec conference would have harmed the country. 

He also said the people were comparing for themselves the performance of the three coalitions which had ruled before: Barisan Nasional, PH and Perikatan Nasional (PN).

"Judging from their track records, I am confident they will pick PN," he said.