SEMENYIH, March 2 — Barisan Nasional (BN) could not have won the Semenyih by-election without Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s support, Umno acting president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said today.
BN’s Zakaria Hanafi beat Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Muhammad Aiman Zainali by 1,914 votes to retake the Selangor state seat after losing it to PH in the 14th general elections.
“They said the true test of BN’s resolve would be here in Semenyih as in Cameron Highlands, it was a BN seat in a BN-run state,” Mohamad told reporters after the winners were announced.
“While everyone played their part for this win, it could not have been possible without the presence and aura of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.”
Former prime minister Najib had made several appearances these past two weeks in Semenyih with his “Bossku” persona. It reportedly galvanised the Malays in the area, giving new life to the BN machinery and PAS whom Mohamad said had been hammered by the press in the lead-up to voting day.
In the 14th general election, incumbent Bakhtiar Mohd Nor, whose demise in January precipitated the by-election, obtained 23,428 votes to defeat BN’s Datuk Johan Abd Aziz (14,464); Mad Shahmidur Mat Kosim of PAS (6,966); and Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) S. Arutchelvan (1,293) in a four-cornered fight.
This time, PAS decided to throw their support behind BN by sitting out the race. Mohamad said with their combined power, this will lead the way for them to champion Malay and Muslim rights.
“Our combined strength can create a new political landscape in Malaysia as we are the two biggest Malay parties in Malaysia,” said Mohamad.
“We will bring the people’s voice into Parliament and be a strong opposition for the government.”
Mohamad, or better known as Tok Mat, will be facing his own by-election in Rantau soon. When asked how he will approach it, he said: “Well, I don’t have a crystal ball but it’s like playing checkers.
“They’ve got four of our pieces while we have two. Hopefully we can win another one in Rantau,” said the former mentri besar of Negri Sembilan.
“PAS got vilified incessantly in the lead up to these by-elections while Umno was not in the limelight as much. So who knows which party will get bad press in Rantau.
“Either way with the cooperation of PAS and BN, God willing we will come out with a good result.”
A total of 39,160 votes were cast. BN garnered 19,755 votes to PH’s 17,844 while PSM’s Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul and independent candidate Kuan Chee Keong got 858 and 703 votes.
Voter turnout was reported at 73.24 per cent, the highest of all by-elections since the 14th general election.
