JOHOR BARU – Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari did not mince his words when he reminded voters here not to take the upcoming Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections for granted.
“Remember what happened in Selangor during the recent state elections.
“A number of voters there decided not to vote, as they were overly confident Pakatan Harapan would retain its two-third majority in the state.
“From the total 71% voter turnout, Chinese voter turnout was only 61%,” the Selangor menteri besar said at a ceramah in Bukit Indah, here, last night.
The PKR vice-president said the poor turnout in Selangor caused PH-Barisan Nasional (BN) to lose four seats by a slim majority. PH-BN won 34 of the 56 state seats contested.
The seats PH-BN lost by a slim majority are Taman Medan, which they lost by a mere 30 votes, followed by Gombak Setia (58 votes), Sg Kandis (167) and Dengkil (400).
“If only voter turnout had been higher by a mere 0.5%, we could have won these four seats.
“These four seats could have given us a two-thirds majority.
“Though we have a good chance of winning the Pulai parliamentary seat, we must not take things for granted.
“We do not want what happened in Selangor to repeat itself.”
The Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections were called following the death of Amanah deputy president and domestic trade minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub.
Polling will be held on September 9.
Amirudin reminded voters that every single vote matters, and urged Johoreans to do their part in helping PH retain the two seats.
Both the by-elections for Pulai and Simpang Jeram will feature three-cornered contests,
For the Pulai seat, PH candidate Suhaizan Kaiat, who is a former Johor state assembly speaker, will face Perikatan Nasional (PN)’s Zulkifli Jaafar, and Independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi, who is using the key symbol.
PH’s Nazri Abdul Rahman, who is Bakri Amanah deputy chief, PN’s Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, who is a PAS central committee member, and businessman S. Jeganathan are in the race for Simpang Jeram. – The Vibes, September 3, 2023
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