KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan today said Pang Sock Tao’s win in yesterday’s Kuala Kuby Baru by-election shows continued voter confidence towards the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Selangor government led by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
The DAP federal lawmaker also said the PH victory should serve as a wake-up call for the Opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) to stop using race and religion in elections to win over voters.
“The cross-ethnic support garnered by Pang ultimately led to victory for the unity government and demonstrated that a political configuration based on unity and cooperation is the best formula for Selangor and Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
He said PN’s loss shows that campaigning on divisive and toxic politics can only yield diminishing returns.
He urged PN to reflect and acknowledge that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, and only politics of moderation and unity can embrace support from all segments of society.
“Issues such as vernacular schools, religion, the ethnicity of candidates, and the sentiment of 'Malay power loss' were exploited by PN leaders during this campaign.
“Moreover, the PN machinery failed to offer anything appealing to the voters of KKB and only brought about controversy surrounding the 3R issue,” said Syahredzan, who is also a member of the DAP’s central executive committee.
Pang won the semi-rural Selangor state seat with a majority of 3,869 votes yesterday, beating PN’s Khairul Azhari Saut, who obtained 10,131 votes, an independent candidate Nyau Ke Xin (188 votes) and Parti Rakyat Malaysia’s (PRM) Hafizah Zainuddin (152 votes).
The Kuala Kubu Baru seat fell vacant following the death of its three-term assemblyman, Lee Kee Hiong who was also from DAP-PH, on March 21 from cancer.
