KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — The increase in Chinese votes for Barisan Nasional (BN) during Monday’s by-election in Sungai Limau, Kedah as claimed by MCA meant Umno would have lost Malay support as a result, asserted DAP’s Lim Kit Siang today.

In the latest round of barbs traded with the rival party, Lim pointed out that BN managed to reduce Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) majority in the seat that PAS retained to 1,084 votes versus the 2,784 margin that the late Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak secured in Election 2013.

The Gelang Patah MP then noted that MCA’s claim to have gained 732 ballots from the Chinese community, up from the theorised estimate of 160 votes in the general election, meant that BN lynchpin Umno bled support from the Malay voters.

“If MCA leaders are to be believed, that BN had an addition of over 732 Chinese votes in the by-election as compared to the 13GE, this could only mean that the BN had lost at least 267 Malay votes, as BN vote in the by-election would have fallen from 10,530 to 10,253 without the increase of at least 732 Chinese votes.

“So, is Umno the greatest loser and MCA the greatest winner in the Sungai Limau by-election?” the DAP parliamentary leader said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak said a preliminary reading of the by-election’s outcome showed an increase in support for the coalition from the Chinese community there.

“At a glance, there is an increase, but we have to look further,” he told a press conference after attending the national Maal Hijrah celebration at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here yesterday.

BN and rival PR have been at odds over the influence of the Chinese vote since the May 5 general election saw the ruling coalition register its worst electoral performance.

In the aftermath, the outcome of Election 2013 was blamed on a so-called “Chinese tsunami” that saw BN lose another seven seats and the popular vote to the opposition pact.

During the run-up to the Sungai Limau poll, MCA asserted that it had managed to gain just a tenth of the 1,600 Chinese votes there in May, but DAP insisted that 45 per cent of the community had backed BN then.

The seat fell vacant following the death of its five-term assemblyman and former mentri besar Azizan Abdul.

The official result of the by-election on Monday saw PAS retaining the state seat after its candidate, Mohd Azam Abd Samat, garnered 12,069 votes compared to BN candidate Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim’s 10,985 votes.