GEN (R) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, who lost in the Kemaman parliamentary by-election yesterday, has called on his supporters and Barisan Nasional (BN) faithful to keep their gaze on future challenges in their continued political quest.
“Don’t look down, look forward because that’s the only way we will win in the future,” he said today.
The former chief of the Malaysian Defence Forces expressed gratitude and appreciation to his voters for trusting him in this by-election.
“The votes given to me mean a lot to me in the days to come,” the BN candidate said in a post on Facebook.
“Actually, we did not lose. We did not lose in light of the spirit that we carry. On the contrary, we have tried our best to give Barisan Nasional a victory.
“In a competition, there are obviously winners and losers. Having lost in this case, we see where our weaknesses and shortcomings are,” he added.
He said that these should now be corrected to move forward to resume the battle.
Affandi lost by a majority of 37,220 votes to PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who is the present menteri besar of Terengganu.
The BN candidate managed to bag 27,778 votes compare to the 64,998 votes garnered by Samsuri in a straight fight.
According to him, having lost this round does not mean defeat is forever, and one should not succumb completely to what happened.
“We should accept defeat with open arms because this lesson will determine whether we will be successful in the future.
“To the machinery that has been working hard to determine the success of BN, I, as a candidate, would like to express my deepest gratitude for what you contributed for 14 days to make me the winner in this election.
“I am proud of the machinery that was there, and I know that the spirit was very high,” he said.
“So, keep that spirit and make it stronger in the future.” – The Vibes, December 3, 2023