PERMATANG PAUH, 8 May: The percentage of voter turnout in the Permatang Pauh by-election depreciated compared to the GE-13 making it the main factor of the decline in majority won by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
The Chief Minister of Selangor, Mohamed Azmin Ali, said that even though the majority this time is lower, it can still be considered a sweet win because it was obtained when facing relentless attacks from Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Thank God, I am grateful because this is a sweet victory for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and the people of Permatang Pauh, as well as Malaysia who gave a clear message to Putrajaya to cancel the GST, improve the economy and to not spread lies.
“It will be a positive development for PKR and PR to obtain a huge victory in the GE14, God-willing.
“We cannot see it in terms of numbers alone, we have to see the turnout today which dropped by almost 10 percent, but if you look at the popular vote, it was exclusively obtained by Kak Wan, and it increased, including in Malay majority areas which we previously lost,” he said.
He said this to Selangor Kini after Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was announced as the winner of the Permatang Pauh by-election at the National Youth Skills Institute last night.
He said that the victory also proves that the Permatang Pauh people understand the direction of the struggle and PKR and PR policies that were being talked about through the campaign period.
During the by-election yesterday, the PKR President, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail won with a majority of 8,841 votes.
Dr Wan Azizah obtained 20,316 votes compared to Suhaimi Sabudin from BN who collected 21,475 votes, 367 by the independent candidate and 101 votes by PRM.
The by-election yesterday recorded a turnout of 74.06 percent compared to the GE13, which was 88.33 percent.
NS
