Kemaman loss a warning to Umno, says Muhyiddin

December 4, 2023

Kemaman loss a warning to Umno, says Muhyiddin

PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional’s (BN) loss in yesterday’s Kemaman by-election should serve as a warning to Umno to reassess their cooperation with Pakatan Harapan (PH), says Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.

In a statement, Muhyiddin claimed PAS candidate Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar’s win also confirmed the declining popularity of the unity government. He said the people, especially Malays, did not agree to BN and PH working together.

Muhyiddin said the increase in the majority by more than 10,000 votes compared with the win by PAS in the same seat in the 15th general election (GE15) last year clearly proved the growing support for the Islamic party and PN.

“The evidence is clear. The votes obtained by the BN candidate in this by-election were significantly lower compared with the votes its candidate obtained (in Kemaman) in GE15,” he said.

“This indicates that BN supporters themselves have shifted their support towards PAS.”

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In yesterday’s by-election, Samsuri obtained a total of 64,998 votes while the BN candidate, Raja Affandi Raja Noor, a retired general and former defence forces chief, garnered 27,778 votes.

The Terengganu menteri besar’s majority in the straight fight was a whopping 37,220 votes.

In GE15, PAS won with a majority of 27,179 after its candidate Che Alias Hamid received 65,714 votes against Terengganu Umno chairman and former menteri besar Ahmad Said’s 38,535 votes.

The other two candidates in the four-cornered contest were PH’s Hasuni Sudin who received 8,340 votes and Rosli Ab Ghani of Pejuang (506 votes).

“The results of the Kemaman by-election is a continuation of the trend of BN voters rejecting the party’s cooperation with PH, as observed in all previous by-elections.

“This is a continuous warning from voters to BN, especially Umno, to reassess their cooperation with PH,” Muhyiddin said.

The Kemaman by-election was called following an election court decision on Sept 26 which annulled the victory of PAS’s Che Alias Hamid in GE15 over bribery claims.