PORT DICKSON, March 3 — The results of the by-election for the State Legislative Assembly seat of Semenyih is a message for us to deeply study the issues that must be considered, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the president of Pakatan Harapan (PH), said as such one had to know what needed to be done in the by-election or general election.
“We have a democratic system, we have a choice and we want the people to know that we are doing our best for the people,”she said when approached by reporters after the 2019 Chinese New Year Open House for the Port Dickson Parliamentary constituency at the PD Waterfront, here tonight.
She said this when commenting on the decision for the Semenyih by-election result which saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) wresting the Semenyih State Legislative Assembly seat after its candidate, Zakaria Hanafi won the four-cornered contest by polling 19,780 votes to achieve a majority of 1,914 votes.
Zakaria defeated the PH candidate, Muhammad Aiman Zainali, who polled 17,866 votes, Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, 25, from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) (847 votes) and independent candidate who is also a social activist, Kuan Chee Heng, 56, (725 votes).
Meanwhile, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the results of the Semenyih by-election reflected the feelings of the people especially the sentiments shown by the Malay community.
“We must take into account but we must continue with our tasks well and I am confident that with a little time, the people will understand why we take the necessary measures in implementing our programmes.
“...we must also remember that the nature of the constituents is important for us to study,” he said.
He said that in the democratic process, the government respected the decision made by the people and it was their right.
“As a government, that is the Selangor State Government is still strong under Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari and the Federal Government under Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“It is also my opinion that Malaysia must continue with the spirit of the constitution which promised to preserve the position of Islam and the Malays but the government must also be firm in preserving racial harmony and the PH must represent the sentiments and needs and aspirations of all races,”he said.
Asked whether the aura possessed by Tun Dr Mahathir had disappeared following the defeat of PH in two by-elections including the Cameron Highlands parliamentary election, Anwar said it was inappropriate to make such interpretation.
“Because Cameron Highlands is not a seat held by the PH but the majority votes, we accept.
“The Semenyih by-election actually gave a picture that there are several problems that we have yet to resolve,”he said.
Earlier, Anwar who is also the Member of Parliament for Port Dickson in his speech said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was endeavouring to bring changes to the people but it was not possible to see the outcome within a period of several months.
“If people ask me what is the biggest success achieved by Pakatan Harapan under Tun Mahathir, I say that the biggest success was that we managed to save the country from a government that was committing major robberies of the national income, not a minor robbery, not stealing chicken but stealing national wealth,” he added. — Bernama
