KUALA LUMPUR – The victories achieved by Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates in Pulai and Simpang Jeram in Johor yesterday have been hailed as a positive development for the federal unity government.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, through a brief message on Facebook, said that the full meaning of the accomplishments is that the people’s development and economic agenda must be ensured and continue to be successful.
“Congratulations to brothers Suhaizan Kayat and (Ir) Nazri Abdul Rahman who won the Pulai parliamentary by-election and the Simpang Jeram state assembly seat.
“My appreciation goes to all the voters who are confident in the efforts of the unity government in developing the country,” said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman.
Also sharing his satisfaction at the victory was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is president of Umno.
“Thank you to the machinery and voters of P. 161 Pulai and N. 13 Simpang Jeram… Thank God,” he was quoted as saying by Getaran, the The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal.
The Pulai and Simpang Jeram seats were won by Amanah’s Suhaizan Kaiat and Nazri Abdul Rahman, respectively, on behalf of PH, which is in alliance with Barisan Nasional (BN).
In Pulai, Suhaizan won with 48,283 votes, far above Zulkifli Jaafar of Perikatan Nasional (PN), who mustered 29,642 votes. Independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi had 528 votes.
In Simpang Jeram, Nazri Abdul Rahman polled 13,884 votes, beating Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya of PN, who garnered 10,330, and independent S. Jeganathan, who managed 311 votes.
Amanah president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu also did not miss the opportunity to express his gratitude to all the voters.
“Thank you to all the voters in Pulai and Simpang Jeram for choosing unity,” he said.
In a related development, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said that this is the time for the unity governments at the federal and state levels to prove that they are capable of providing the best service for the people.
According to him, all the relevant processes towards this will be set in motion through solid cooperation and precise consensus between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH.
“We have to now prove that we can provide the best service with our hearts to the people and bring the country and the state of Johor towards excellence such that we are able to improve the lives of the people,” he said.
Asyraf explained that the victory proves that Johor possesses its own identity, manner and special feature in defending the principles of moderation, progressiveness and inclusiveness.
“All of that is based on the nature of Islamic and Malay leadership within the reality of pluralism pertaining to the multiracial and multireligious community of this beloved country.
“Well done, thank you and a wreath of appreciation to Johor BN chairman Datuk Seri (Mohamed) Khaled Nordin and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi for their hard work in mobilising the entire BN divisional machineries in the state of Johor located at every voting district centre in both Pulai and Simpang Jeram over more than two weeks,” he said. – The Vibes, September 10, 2023
