Elections won through seats, not popular votes, says Sabah speaker

Sabah state assembly speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak says elections are won through seats and not popular vote, following deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's reminder that Umno is suffering from trust deficit among the voting populace. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, May 24, 2015.

Sabah state assembly speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak today said elections are won through seats and not popular vote, following Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's reminder that Umno is suffering from trust deficit among the voting populace.

Writing in his blog, Salleh said that Umno should instead face up to the fact that no government in the world enjoys 100% support and having less popular support has nothing to do with trust deficit.

"This has nothing to do with trust deficit but it is a worldwide trend. Umno needs to be realistic and not live in denial about this."

He said the issue of having less popular support cannot be "taken personally" by Umno members.

"In this environment, even winning 45% of the popular vote is considered extraordinary."

He said Barisan Nasional (BN) won 60% of the Parliament seats in the 2013 general election despite gaining only 47% of the popular support, and compared it to the United Kingdom where the government was formed after winning just 51% of the seats.

He attributed low popular support due global economic climate, saying that Malaysia as a highly trade dependent country cannot run away from consequences of global economy.

"Ambition and goals are not important for most voters, especially if they have no money – ambition can't put food on the table," he said.

Muhyiddin at an event on Johor Baru yesterday said that the party seems to be suffering from trust deficit and urged the party's younger members to work on that.

Recently, Muhyiddin called for the sacking of the entire 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) board following controversies related to the state investment arm mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Najib is currently under pressure to resign, due to BN's underwhelming performance during the election two years ago and also several controversies, including 1MDB's RM42 billion debt.

- TMI