Zahid: Kemaman by-election not a referendum for PN

PAS’s victory in the Kemaman by-election on Saturday was not a referendum showing the people were on the side of Perikatan Nasional as claimed by the coalition, said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The deputy prime minister said the number of votes PAS obtained in the recent by-election also did not represent the support of the majority of Malaysians.

“This cannot be considered a referendum because this is a small group (of voters) in Kemaman only.

“How could 141,000 Kemaman voters be considered a referendum? So we hope they (PN) are not daydreaming,” he told reporters in Putrajaya, today.

Zahid said this when met after launching the Polytechnic Transformation Direction Plan 2023-2030.

Also present were Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu.

Yesterday, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the victory of Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar in the Kemaman by-election proved the people were on the side of PN.

Takiyuddin argued that Samsuri’s victory with a larger majority of 37,220 votes (from 27,179 in GE15) not only showed the people accepted his position as menteri besar but also confirmed the upward momentum of support for PN in a series of by-elections after GE15.

“In addition to the administrative confusion factor, PAS believes that the result of the Kemaman by-election this time is also a voter rejection of ‘allocation fund politics’ and the dishonourable trick used by Putrajaya to force and bully opposition MPs and the state government who are not on the same page,” he said.

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin last Saturday also said Samsuri’s victory with a large majority proved PN is now the main vehicle for Malay politics.

Hamzah said it was a clear signal from the people to reject the failure of the government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“The result of the Kemaman by-election is a great blow to Anwar and it is a gift for the first anniversary of the PMX administration’s failure,” he said on Facebook.

‘White’ voters don’t vote

The Kemaman by-election saw PAS successfully retain its mandate when Ahmad Samsuri obtained a majority of 37,220 votes.

Ahmad Samsuri polled 64,998 votes against BN’s Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor’s 25,023 votes.

Commenting further, Zahid attributed the increase in PN votes to “white” Umno and BN voters - representing their core supporters - not coming out to vote.

“There was no increase in support for PAS candidates, but there was a reduction in white voters, especially Umno, (only) 68.3 percent of white Umno voters turned out to vote.

“So it contributed to the increased majority (to PAS) because white voters did not go out to vote,” said Zahid.