PN caught out by swing in Umno votes to PH, says leader

 

On May 11, Perikatan Nasional’s Khairul Azhari Saut (pic) lost to Pakatan Harapan’s Pang Sock Tao in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election by a 3,869-vote margin.

PETALING JAYA: A Perikatan Nasional leader has admitted that the opposition coalition had been caught out by a swing of Umno votes to DAP in the recent Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.

However, the PN Supreme Council member said he did not believe the outcome represented an overall change in sentiment among the Malay party’s grassroots for its once bitter rival.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the PN leader said the coalition had taken the lingering animosity between the Umno and DAP for granted, and were “overly confident” of securing the votes of Umno members and supporters.

“We didn’t do much work when it came to Umno members as we thought they would choose us because of their unhappiness with the unity government, especially DAP,” the PN leader told FMT.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said last year that party members were still finding it difficult to accept DAP as an ally in the unity government.

In a study published by former DAP MP Ong Kian Ming last month, four out of five Malay voters who previously supported Barisan Nasional in seats contested by DAP were found to have voted for PN in the state election.

The PN leader said Umno members he had approached “at the eleventh hour” informed him they would back the unity government this time around.

“They told me there was a ‘deal’ in place for them to vote for the unity government,” he said without elaborating.

The PN leader said Umno had in the run-up to the May 11 polls focused on ensuring their estimated 4,000 members in Kuala Kubu Baharu voted for the unity government.

However, the source said the swing of Umno votes to Pakatan Harapan did not mean party members were warming up to DAP.

“I think they are demanding more concessions from the unity government.”

The PN leader admitted that his coalition did not make much breakthrough with the constituency’s Chinese voters. However, they claimed to have done well in securing votes from the Indian community.

Kuala Kubu Baharu is a mixed seat with the number of Malay and non-Malay voters evenly split.

“Almost 90% of the Chinese voters backed the unity government, but we managed to secure about 31% of the Indian vote.

“The ‘boycott’ (of the unity government) by the Indian voters worked to our benefit,” the leader said.

On April 19, Indian-based party Urimai called on Indian voters to snub DAP’s Pang Sock Tao at the ballot box, citing dissatisfaction with the unity government’s treatment of the Indian community.

At the same time, Ong said PN’s decision to field a Malay candidate “basically conceded the Chinese vote to the unity government”.

In Saturday’s by-election, Pang won the seat with a 3,869-vote majority over her closest rival, PN’s Khairul Azhari Saut. She secured 14,000 votes, while Khairul pulled in 10,131.

The two other contestants – independent Nyau Ke Xin and Hafizah Zainuddin of Parti Rakyat Malaysia – lost their deposits. - FMT