JOHOR DAP believes that the massive victory of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah in the Mahkota state by-election in Johor shows that the coming together of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and BN is the winning formula for the 16th general election.
State chapter chairman Liew Chin Tong made this observation although some quarters in DAP have expressed concerns over the low turnout rate among the Chinese and Indians in the election.
It almost mirrors the percentage in the Sungai Bakap state by-election in Penang, which PAS from the Opposition's Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition won.
But Liew disagrees in a statement, saying that Syed Hussien received 27,995 votes, or 79% of the votes, and his opponent PN's coach Mohamad Haizan Jaafar received 7,347 voters.
Syed Hussien won the seat with a majority of 20,648 votes.
In the March 2022 Johor State Election, BN received 16,611 votes, PH 11,445 votes and PN 7,614 votes.
The combined votes received by BN and PH during that election was 28,056, which is very similar to the result of yesterday’s by-election, Liew noted.
What it means is that, after very intense campaigning and persuasion, PH's voter base was “transferable” to BN in this instance, said Liew.
The result augurs well for further consolidation of cooperation among the parties that form the national unity government.
With much stronger cooperation, and with effective governing and inspirational policies, the Unity Government will be able to convince the middle ground, especially those who did not turn out to vote yesterday, Liew argued.
The Unity Government must be able to win elections together to ensure the stability and continuity of this administration, he stressed.
Liew's remarks ran contrary to what some quarters in DAP are saying that there is serious concern that the non-Malay ground is slowly but surely losing faith in the national unity government.
Although the ringgit has rebounded to be the best currency in the region and there is an impressive growth rate in the second quarter despite the global economic uncertainty, the macro economy on the ground is not necessarily favourable.
Living costs continue to be a burden, and it is now spread to healthcare with reports that Malaysia has among the highest increase in medical costs in the region, driven in part by inflation. - September 29, 2024.
