PM: By-election win shows rakyat confident in BN and PN policies

Yesterday’s crushing win at Perak’s Slim by-election is indicative of the rakyat’s trust in BN and by extension, the policies implemented by the Perikatan Nasional government, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the victory also proved that the Muafakat Nasional trio of Bersatu, Umno and PAS was capable of forming a “solid political pact” that could woo voters.

“I hope YB (Yang Berhormat) Zaidi will be able to carry out his duties and responsibilities to the people well,” said Muhyiddin in a congratulatory statement on the win today.

BN candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz won the Slim by-election with a majority of 10,945 votes, far surpassing BN’s 2,183-vote majority of GE14.

He defeated independent candidates Amir Khusyairi Mohamad, who was backed by the yet-to-be-registered Pejuang party of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and former teacher S Santharasekaran.

Zaidi, the Tanjung Malim Umno acting division chief, garnered 13,060 votes compared to Amir who got 2,115 votes and Santharasekaran with 276 votes.

Meanwhile, the PAS Supporters Club said the swing in non-Malay votes for BN in Slim signified a shift in the perception that Muafakat Nasional sidelined other races.

In the Perak state seat by-election which concluded yesterday, BN candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz won the Slim by-election with a majority of 10,945 votes, far surpassing BN’s 2,183-vote majority during GE14.

He defeated independent candidates Amir Khusyairi Mohamad, who was backed by the yet-to-be-registered Pejuang party of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and former teacher S Santharasekaran.

BN won in all voting districts including in districts with majority Indian and Chinese Malaysian voters.

Slim has 23,181 voters of which 75 percent of voters are Malays, followed by Indians (13 percent), Chinese (10 percent) and others (two percent).

“This means not just the Malays, but all the races have abandoned the opposition - giving the perception that the people did not believe Muafakat is racists.

“Therefore, Mahathir must forget his dream of being prime minister, (with) the Slim by-election loss and fall in Pakatan Harapan’s popularity in a series of by-elections since Umno and PAS joined forces in Muafakat... a signal that the road will be hard for Harapan come GE15,” PAS Supporters’ Clb secretary S Barathidasan said in a statement today.

PAS and Umno-BN signed the Muafakat Nasional pact in September last year while Bersatu, led by prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, recently joined the fold.