Winners and losers of the KKB by-election

 

Winners: Pang Sock Tao, Nga Kor Ming and the unity government. Losers: Azmin Ali and Perikatan Nasional.

PETALING JAYA: The curtains have come down on the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election after two weeks of campaigning, with Pakatan Harapan candidate Pang Sock Tao emerging victorious in the four-cornered race for the state seat.

While observers had expected a tight race between PH and the opposition Perikatan Nasional, Pang seemed to have defended the seat for her party DAP with ease, mustering a strong albeit slimmer 3,869-vote majority ahead of PN’s Khairul Azhari Saut.

Pang surprised many by taking the lead early on, garnering the majority of early votes cast by the policemen, military personnel and their spouses in Kuala Kubu Baharu. She retained that lead as she stormed to victory.

FMT takes a look at the biggest winners and losers from the by-election last night.

Winner: Unity government

In what was its next electoral test after a mediocre performance at the six state elections last August, the alliance of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional succeeded in defending Kuala Kubu Baharu, a mixed seat, despite initial projections of a tighter race.

The unity government, with already little Malay support despite Umno’s inclusion, was said to be reeling from dissatisfaction from the non-Malays, especially due to the rising cost of living, slow pace of institutional reforms, and the fuss over Najib Razak’s halved jail sentence.

The Indian community’s grouses particularly came under the spotlight, while P Ramasamy’s Urimai sought to get Indian voters in Kuala Kubu Baharu to vote against the unity government due to its failure to fulfll promises made to the community.

But promises made on the campaign trail seemed to have won over the “kingmakers”, with Pang gaining a strong majority in the seat that has 18% Indian voters. Meanwhile, speculation of Chinese voters possibly boycotting the by-election fell flat, with the community once again giving PH their much-needed support.

Loser: Perikatan Nasional

On the other hand, PN went into the two-week campaign with its confidence buoyed by the Malaysian Indian People’s Party joining the coalition, adding to the belief that it could stand a chance to wrest some non-Malay support through the Indian votes.

But ever since nomination day there had been talk about PAS not giving the Bersatu candidate its full support, with PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil pointing out that the Islamic party’s top leaders were all in Perlis during nominations.

While PAS leaders did eventually join the campaign trail, they seemed to fail to pull much of a crowd at the nightly ceramahs. The think tank Ilham Centre had also said that PAS, as the backbone of PN’s election machinery, did not fully mobilise its people for the by-election.

Questions will be raised over PAS’s role, or its apparent lack thereof, in the by-election campaign once the dust settles.

Winner: Nga Kor Ming

Some quarters had criticised Pang’s candidacy when it was first announced by DAP, particularly since she was formerly the press secretary to housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming, who has been a controversial figure of late.

The links to Nga gave PN sufficient ammunition, especially since the DAP vice-chairman had drawn brickbats from Malay leaders, including Umno, over his proposal to nominate New Villages in Selangor as Unesco world heritage sites. The Teluk Intan MP did also butt heads with Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh amid the KK Mart and “Allah” socks fiasco.

Nga had to brush off claims that Pang was merely a proxy of his, while the minister courted further controversy after announcing RM5.21 million in funds for the Hulu Selangor municipal council to improve public infrastructure in the area.

But now that his former aide has been elected, Nga stands somewhat redeemed after all the noise made over Pang’s candidacy.

Loser: Azmin Ali

Appointed as Selangor Bersatu chief in January, Azmin Ali was given the responsibility of leading PN’s campaign for the by-election, which meant that victory or defeat would eventually be down to how he led the machinery.

Having succeeded in securing the nomination of Khairul, the Hulu Selangor Bersatu chief, ahead of a Gerakan candidate, the party would have been looking to shore up its numbers after “losing” six MPs and one Selangor assemblyman who declared support for the unity government.

Victory would have meant gaining the 22nd seat in the Selangor assembly.

And with Bersatu’s party elections set to be held soon, this defeat could deal a major blow to Azmin’s aspirations of climbing up the party hierarchy. - FMT