Umno-PAS cooperation not able to challenge PH yet, say analysts

The low turnout in Sungai Kandis could also be the result of a silent protest by supporters of both Umno and PAS, one of the analyts says.

Despite its cooperation with PAS, Barisan Nasional fails to topple PH in Sungai Kandis. (File pic)

SHAH ALAM: A political analyst from Universiti Sains Malaysia Prof Sivamurugan Pandian said the cooperation between PAS and Umno did not work out in the Sungai Kandis by-election probably because supporters did not come out to vote following the Islamist party’s decision not to contest.

He said the BN candidate in the by-election could have obtained 19,000 votes if the PAS-Umno cooperation had worked out.

“Apart from that, issues raised by BN were also not suitable for the situation in Sungai Kandis. The by-election was also held just after the last general election and voters think the result would not bring much change to the situation in Selangor,” he told Bernama.

A senior lecturer at the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Raub campus, Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali also shared Sivamurugan’s views.

He said supporters from both parties were against the Umno-PAS cooperation and had carried out a silent protest by not going to vote.

“Other factors include the fact that the BN candidate is not a local, and issues played up by BN, especially on Islam and Malays, had no impact in Selangor,” he added.

A total of 15,427 voters in Sungai Kandis voted for Pakatan Harapan candidate Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni while 9,585 chose Lokman Noor. Independent candidate K Murthy managed to get 97 votes.

The percentage of voter turnout also showed that only 49.4% of the voters in the constituency exercised their rights, against the 80% turnout targeted by the Election Commission (EC).

The Sungai Kandis by-election is the first by-election to be held after the May 9 general election following the death of asssemblyman Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei from cancer on July 2. -FMT