TANJUNG MALIM, August 29 — Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Mohd Zaidi Aziz, 43, who won the Slim by-election today, said that the high majority of votes they received in the constituency was expected.
Mohd Zaidi, who secured a 10,945-vote majority in the by-election, said that this is because of the support given by Muafakat Nasional’s (MN) machineries and also the voters who believe in their leadership.
“Firstly, I thank the God almighty for giving me this victory.
“I also thank my father and my wife and also the MN leaderships who have shown their constant support,” he told reporters when met at the vote-tallying centre at the Dewan Sri Tanjung here.
“And most importantly, I thank the voters in Slim constituency who have supported me,” he added.
BN’s Mohd Zaidi Aziz, 43, garnered 13,060 votes to defeat newly-formed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s (Pejuang) Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi, 38, who contested with an independent ticket, and independent candidate Santharasekaran Subramaniam, 44.
Amir Khusyairi polled 2,115 votes while Santharasekaran lost his deposits after only managing to secure 276 votes.
This was the seventh victory for BN out of the 12 by-elections held after the GE14 on May 9, 2018.
BN had previously won by-elections in Cameron Highlands, Semenyih, Rantau, Tanjung Piai, Kimanis and Chini.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi described the coalition victory tonight as a positive signal for the upcoming Sabah state election.
“The landslide victory here shows that voters miss BN. We bring this positive spirit to the Sabah election and will do our best to attract more votes,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid also reminded Mohd Zaidi to fulfil people’s wishes and his promises to them and at the same time urge him up give his best to carry out the legacy of incumbent Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, who died on July 15 due to heart attack.
Meanwhile, Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said that they have predicted that there will be a tough fight in the by-election as their candidate has to contest in an independent ticket.
“Our party is yet to be officially registered and BN has unlimited resources for their campaigning, which was also supported by government agency to help their candidate,” he said.
“However, we are satisfied with the result and has no complaints. We want to make clear that we are ever ready for the next general election,” he added.
Amir Khusyairi, who spoke to reporters briefly thanked the voters, the party and Pakatan Harapan (PH) machineries who have helped him in the campaign.
“I also thank Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for having his faith in me. This is just a beginning, we will move forward,” he said.
