NIBONG TEBAL – The unity government’s effort to persuade Sg Bakap voters on national, state and local issues has fallen short, resulting in Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) defeat in the by-election, according to Chow Kon Yeow.
The unofficial result revealed that PH candidate Joohari Ariffin lost to Perikatan Nasional’s Abidin Ismail by a margin of 4,269 votes. Abidin secured 14,554 votes, while Joohari garnered 10,285 votes.
In his concession speech to reporters following the announcement, the Penang chief minister and state PH chief acknowledged that the coalition’s attempts to communicate national policies, such as the targeting of diesel subsidies and cost of living adjustments, did not resonate with voters.
This was despite the strong collaboration between PH and Barisan Nasional’s machinery throughout the campaign.
“This requires necessary actions to be undertaken by the government by analysing the issues raised and expediting the communications and narrative (building) on these issues to the voters,” Chow said at the PH vote-tallying centre in Jawi.
Chow also indicated that a post-mortem would be conducted to examine the campaign’s weaknesses and the reasons behind the decline in votes for PH.
This analysis aims to provide the unity coalition with a clearer understanding to determine the next steps, he added.
Chow noted a 10% decrease in voter turnout among both the Chinese and Indian communities.
The chief minister assured that his government would continue to address issues raised during the campaign, such as water shortages and traffic congestion.
“We will not neglect the rakyat in need of assistance, even though we were unable to win this seat,” he said. – July 6, 2024