A major storm is brewing in the Shah Alam parliamentary constituency... and it's not anywhere near the Barisan Nasional (BN) base.

The grassroots of opposition bedfellows - PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) - are quietly slugging it out among themselves over who should be assigned to regain Shah Alam, a Keadilan stronghold.

In 1999, Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor lost to BN's Mohd Zin Mohamad by 1,440 votes. Ezam obtained 34,411 compared to Mohd Zin's 35,851.

Though he lost, Ezam drastically reduced the majority obtained by BN in 1995 - from 40,715 to 1,440.

Party insiders claim that the main problem lies with Keadilan's 'high-handedness' in dealing with the seat allocation issue in Selangor.

"Keadilan not only reneged on a gentleman's agreement with PAS to swap Shah Alam for the latter's state constituencies of Batu Tiga and Kota Anggerik, but it also wants to keep Kota Anggerik for itself," said a source.

The new state constituency of Kota Anggerik, previously Batu Tiga, was won by BN's Salamon Selamat by more than 1,700 votes against a PAS candidate.

This time, PAS candidate Khalid Abdul Samad may be fielded to contest in Batu Tiga, which was previously the Sungai Renggam state seat that was won by Ahmad Nawawi M Zin by over 2,800 votes to defeat PAS' Omar Hashim.

The recent redelineation exercise and last week's disqualification of vice-president Mohd Azmin Ali, Wanita deputy chief Irene Fernandez, and Ezam by the Election Commission effectively threw a spanner in Keadilan's election strategy.

Keadilan's decision to proceed with the trio's nomination stands, at least until the outcome of tomorrow's court hearing.

Unknown candidate

In the meantime, PAS members and party workers in Shah Alam are dissatisfied with Keadilan's last-minute revocation of the deal and its subsequent decision to field a political unknown.

Come March 21, veteran unionist Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud would most likely face the incumbent in Selangor's most affluent Malay-dominated urban area.

He is expected to confirm his candidacy later tonight and explain his reasons for contesting.

But the Shah Alam opposition grassroots preferred choice is local PAS leader Khalid (photo).

"We've been promoting him over the last three years. The people here, especially the non-Malays, are already familiar with him. At least, they know him on sight," said a party worker.

"How are we going to persuade people to vote for a newcomer to the constituency against local Umno strongman Mohd Zin, a first-time MP who has touched base since he won in 1999?" he asked.

Furthermore, the local PAS office claims to have spent close to RM60,000 on campaign material, including posters, for Khalid.

The state Barisan Alternatif's line-up is expected to be announced tomorrow.

Tactical move

Contacted today, Mohd Azmin said the grassroots' concerns are just speculation.

"The decision to swap seats is a tactical move. In any election, we cannot possibly entertain everyone. In fact, every seat has more than one proposed candidate.

Citing Hulu Kelang, he said that just because four or five names are proposed, did not mean that there was a problem.

"At the same time, we must listen to the grassroots. If they are not happy or strongly oppose the selected name based on good grounds, we will certainly reconsider," he said.

"But we cannot satisfy everyone at the same time. There is bound to be a few disgruntled voices in the crowd," he added.

But party workers are miffed with Keadilan for being overbearing and overconfident.

"They are not prepared, but they still demand for seats. In fact, they still haven't got enough helpers on the ground, especially those familiar with the new election rules and regulations," said another opposition supporter.

The manner in which Keadilan has dealt with PAS in Selangor has left portions of the grassroots angry, accusing the party of being selfish.

And just when the dust seems to be settling, PAS campaigners are starting to feel restless over Keadilan's "unpreparedness".

"Where are the flags we need to put up in Shah Alam and Kota Anggerik? We have put up PAS flags in Batu Tiga (where Khalid was expected to contest), but we are still waiting for Keadilan's flags till today," complained a hardcore PAS supporter.

"Mind you, nomination is only two days away!"

Either way, PAS' campaigners have resigned themselves to helping out Keadilan's candidate in Shah Alam for the sole purpose of defeating the BN.

Question now is whether Keadilan can meet the expectations and the level of preparedness of PAS' grassroots if they want to win big in the state.