KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed today that the Sg Bakap by-election results yesterday showed that the voters there were not swayed by the government’s “bribes and persuasions” made by the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) coalition.
“PH-BN, by ‘abusing’ government machinery en masse to gain voters, did not provide any advantage to the party,” Muhyiddin said.
PN’s candidate, Abidin Ismail of PAS, retained the state seat in Penang with a majority of 4,267 votes over PH.
Abidin garnered 14,489 total votes, while PKR’s Joohari Ariffin received 10,222 votes.
Muhyiddin also said PN’s victory clearly reflected the rakyat’s rejection of policies introduced by the PH-BN government that burdened the people, such as the diesel subsidy targeting that led to price hikes of goods, and the government’s insistence on proceeding with the sale of 30% of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad’s shares to Global Infrastructure Partners, despite public opposition.
He also attributed PN’s victory to the government’s failure to fulfil its institutional reform pledges and its “continuous stifling of people’s freedom”.
“Congratulations to PN’s candidate for this meaningful victory and thank you to all the machinery of PN’s component Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and MIPP.
“(Thank you) to the friends in NGOs, community leaders, and the individuals who have worked hard to ensure PN’s victory,” he added. – July 7, 2024