KLANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Azmin Ali is fighting fire on many sides in the general election.

He not only needs to fend off his political foes, he also has to handle enemies within his own party, and now, he has his own brother on his back.

Datuk Seri Azmin, who enjoyed strong support and backing from the PAS grassroots in his Gombak parliamentary constituency in the past, may suffer the repercussions of the opposition split with the Islamist party.

The 54-year-old will face at least a three-cornered fight for his parliament seat in Gombak, Selangor.

He has to face Gombak Umno chief Abdul Rahim Pandak Kamaruddin, 62, and PAS deputy Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin, 34.

The PAS leadership believes engineer Khairil Nizam will rake in the support of the PAS grassoots.

Mr Azmin, the Selangor Menteri Besar, is also facing some internal issues within PKR with another faction trying to dislodge him.

As though that was not enough, there is an elephant in the room - his younger brother, Malaysian celebrity Azwan is going all out to tarnish Mr Azmin's image.

Mr Azwan, a popular talkshow host, says he will stand as an independent in the Bukit Antarabangsa state seat, where Mr Azmin is the incumbent.

"Hot, hot, hot ... I can confirm that I will contest as an independent using the elephant logo. I am going there because I am confident that Bukit Antarabangsa residents are sick of Azmin's false promises," Mr Azwan, 52, told Malay daily Sinar Harian.

Mr Azmin's trials and tribulations clearly showed on his face at a PKR event on Monday night at the Kuala Selangor stadium.

The usually smiling and bright-faced Azmin looked drawn and distant.

However, his political secretary Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei said Mr Azmin has the experience and expertise to overcome any political challenges that might come his way.

"Azmin is very smart. Don't underestimate him. He is capable of making last-minute movements that no one can predict.

"He has the knack of accurately reading a political situation. He knows when to enter the game, exit and attack," said Mr Mat Shuhaimi.

Mr Azwan said he is not afraid of losing and would be satisfied with even one vote. "I have gone to the Election Commission to show that I am serious about contesting."

He said he has drawn up his own manifesto for Bukit Antarabangsa, including finding a solution to the Selangor water supply issue, and combating corruption.

This was not the first time Mr Azwan had attacked his brother publicly. Last year, Mr Azwan went to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office in Putrajaya to hand over what he claimed to be "hot" information.

He also attended last year's Umno annual assembly and declared that he would help Barisan Nasional take down Mr Azmin.