A senior PAS leader said the Selangor state government may change hands if voters choose Perikatan Nasional in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election next month.
The party’s deputy permanent chairperson Kamal Ashaari said while Pakatan Harapan will still have the numbers to lead Selangor, such a defeat can be a referendum to trigger change.
“If we win in KKB, it is not impossible that the government can be changed using a certain strategy after we get the seat,” he said, as quoted by PAS mouthpiece Harakahdaily.
The Election Commission has set this Saturday as nomination day for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, which was called following the death of its incumbent assemblyperson Lee Kee Hiong last month.
It also set May 7 for early voting, while polling day will be May 11.
Lee successfully defended the seat when she received 14,862 votes in the Selangor state election last year. She had a 4,119 vote majority ahead of closest contender Teoh Kien Hong from PN component party Gerakan.
Besides Lee and Teoh, the seat was also contested by candidates from Muda and Parti Rakyat Malaysia.
The by-election will involve 40,226 registered voters, a slight increase from the 40,015 listed in the electoral roll for last year’s state election.
Kuala Kubu Baharu used to be a traditional seat for BN component party MCA before it fell to Harapan’s DAP when Lee won the seat for the first time in 2013.
Last night, Harapan announced Pang Sock Tao as its candidate, while PN is expected to unveil theirs later today. However, sources suggested that PN might not feature a candidate from Gerakan this time.
Wind of change
Meanwhile, Kamal claimed that a survey by the opposition party showed a stronger wind of change towards PN in Kuala Kubu Baharu, including from among non-Malay voters.
According to the Kuala Krau MP, the survey was done through social media.
“We saw stronger support for PN among voters. And this is not only specific to Malay voters but was also seen among the non-Malays,” he said.
Kamal claimed the change was caused by several factors including cost of living issues.
He said the government was seen as lacking focus to improve the country’s economy.
“(The government) is only relying on foreign investment which we see is getting less and less... especially with the decreasing ringgit value.
“So these factors have affected the Chinese business owners and pushed the non-Malays to support PN while Malay voters continue to be with us,” he said.
The Selangor state legislative assembly has 56 seats, with Harapan and BN holding 34 while PN has 22. - Mkini
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