Perikatan loses KKB as voting trends stick

ThERE were no significant changes to the voting trend in the Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) by-election.

Ilham Centre's Hisomudin Bakar said people voted the same way they did in the Selangor polls last August, allowing Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Pang Sock Tao to win the seat with 3,869 more votes than her nearest rival.

He said Perikatan Nasional could not win enough votes to cause an upset, having already achieved the most number of Malay votes it could get in the last election.

"In the last state polls, PN got 79% of the Malay vote. This time, it expected to get more Malay votes, and more Indian votes because of the protests (over perceived government neglect)," he said.

"But the results did not turn out as expected."

In yesterday's by-election, Pang of DAP won KKB after receiving 14,000 votes, defeating PN's Khairul Azhari Saut who got 10,131 votes.

Independent candidate Nyau Ke Xin obtained 188 votes and PRM's Hafizah Zainudin, 152 votes.

Hisomudin said that PN was eager to end DAP's run in KKB, which the party has held since 2013.

"Malays, including young Malays, still reject DAP, PH, and the unity government.

"PH, meanwhile, depends entirely on non-Malay, especially Chinese and Indian, voters... which it did manage to obtain."

Hisomudin said PN failed to secure more Malay support because its narratives were unsuitable for a mixed seat such as KKB.

"Other factors include the unsatisfactory performances of the PN Hulu Selangor lawmaker and Batang Kali and Hulu Bernam assemblymen," he said.

Failed boycott call

On the other hand, Hisomudin said the PH-Barisan Nasional (BN) partnership had won over voters with their promise of a stable government at both state and federal levels.

"The BN machinery also seemed quite organised this time and was working hard to win back the trust of its members who had protested during the August state polls.

"It can be inferred from the results that Umno members had grown to accept the party decision to support the unity government," he said.

Hisomudin said Indian votes also contributed to PH's win in a by-election with a low voter turnout.

There are 40,226 registered voters in the constituency, made up of a mixed electorate of Malays (53.4%), Chinese (30.5%), and Indians (15.82%). The remainder is made up of Orang Asli and others.

Voter turnout at the polls yesterday was 61.51%, one of the lowest among the by-elections held after the 2022 general election.

"Indian voters protested in the first week of the campaign after leaders such as P. Ramasamy spoke in the estates and Indian-majority polling districts.

"However, in the second week, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming changed everything with his offer to solve the housing problem with land donated by the Berjaya Group.”

Ramasamy, a former DAP leader, had campaigned to dissuade Indian voters from voting for PH over what he said was the unity government’s unfair treatment of the Indian community.

The former Penang chief minister called on Indians to snub PH to teach the federal government a “painful” lesson.

Wake-up call

Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan of DAP said the KKB results showed that Malaysians supported moderate politics instead of the identity politics practised by PN.

“The win shows the people's confidence in the Selangor government is still intact, and gives a clear message that the unity government’s policies are increasingly accepted by the people.

“Cross-racial support for Pang brought victory for the unity government and showed that politics based on unity and togetherness is the best formula for Selangor and Malaysia,” he said in a statement.

He said PN had played up racial and religious issues to no avail.

Syahredzan said the opposition pact had made the oft-repeated claim that Malays were "losing power".

“In fact, the PN machinery did not offer anything interesting to KKB voters.

“PN's defeat in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election proves that its campaign based on issues of race and religion failed to win the hearts of the majority of voters.

“This defeat should be a wake-up call for PN to abandon its divisive and toxic politics,” said Syahredzan. – May 12, 2024.