AMPANG, May 4 — Riding on his track record as he campaigns here for the first time since becoming Selangor mentri besar in 2015, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali does not seem worried about fending off pretenders to his seat.

Despite a five-cornered battle here between Umno, PAS, Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and his own brother, Azwan Ali, who is contesting as an Independent, Azmin says he is confident of retaining the seat with an even bigger majority this time around.

"The voters here are mostly middle class, and they know who should represent them, and the issues. So I am not worried by any multi-cornered fight as far as Bukit Antarabangsa is concerned,” Azmin told reporters on the sidelines of a walkabout he did in two areas that now fall under his state constituency following the redelineation exercise: Taman Cahaya and Taman Dagang.

Azmin’s confidence has been evident throughout the first week of campaigning. He was not present to file his nomination papers here last week, opting to personally file his papers for the Gombak parliamentary seat instead.

Since then, Azmin has been more present in Gombak, only occasionally appearing in Bukit Antarabangsa for small meet-and-greet sessions with voters. He has also been travelling constantly across Selangor, and even to other states to stump for PKR and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates in other constituencies.

Incumbent Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin is also confident of PKR maintaining the status quo in the Ampang parliamentary seat and also the Bukit Antarabangsa state seat under it.

"For us, it is Lembah Jaya (the other state constituency under Ampang), where we need to convince the voters, because PAS won there the last time,” she said.

Azmin’s confidence is reflected in the sentiment of some voters met by Malay Mail in Bukit Antarabangsa, with all of them citing cost of living issues as a key motivation to vote for PH.

Mohd Kamil Kassim, 29, said that he views PAS and PH in a similar light as they both object to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"The people here definitely do not want Barisan Nasional (BN). Their heart is not with BN anymore,” he said.

He also said that when it comes to voting, he is more inclined to back PH as they could form the next government in Putrajaya.

"So far, Azmin has had no problems here. I see since (Pakatan) took over the state government, they have refurbished this place really well. It used to be so disorganised, and they are the ones who got it done,” he said, referring to a row of food stalls in Taman Dagang.

Similarly, a couple, S. Retnam, 52, and Rajaletchumy, 45, both said they would back PH as they want to see a change of federal government.

"We are seeing a lot of changes now (in the area under Azmin), and if they capture Putrajaya, there might be more changes and benefits for us. In our family, about 20 of us, all support Pakatan,” Retnam said.

Meanwhile, a trader at the market at Ampang Jaya, known only as Lee, lamented that the GST had badly affected his business.

"I have been here for 45 years, and business has never been this bad. Now people don’t have money to spend, so they hardly buy from me,” said the trader, who sells Chinese delicacies.

"It will be good not to have this tax anymore,” the 66-year-old added, without revealing which party he would back in the upcoming elections.

Bukit Antarabangsa has 46,537 voters, with an equal split of 46 per cent Malays and 46 per cent Chinese. Azmin, who is seeking a third term here, increased his majority from 1,381 votes in 2008 to 4,044 votes in 2013.