PKR retains Bukit Selambau & PAS remained Bukit Gantang seat.
In Bukit Selambau, S Manikumar (PKR) wins with 2403-vote majority, getting votes against BN’s Datuk S Ganesan with 10,229 votes. While in Bukit Gantang, Pas’ Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin wins Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat with 2789-vote majority.
He received 21,860 votes against Barisan Nasisonal’s Ismail Saffian’s 19,071 votes.
He received 21,860 votes against Barisan Nasisonal’s Ismail Saffian’s 19,071 votes.
AFTER nine days of scantily-clad dancing girls, sumptuous seafood dinners, YouTube election videos, Rentap lingo, and endless ceramah, including even a joint ceramah by three independent candidates contesting against each other and 12 others, Malaysians watching how the less than 100,000 voters in three constituencies voted their's representative.
From 8am, the 55,562 voters in Bukit Gantang, Perak; 35,140 in Bukit Selambau, Kedah; and 8,006 in Batang Ai, Sarawak will be lining up at polling centres to make their choices known.Every voter in each of these constituencies will, no doubt, feel that the by-election in their area is most important. But most eyes will be on the parliamentary constituency of Bukit Gantang where Barisan Nasional's Ismail Saffian is up against Pas' Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin and independent Kamarul Ramizu Idris.No one is actually giving Kamarul much of a chance, with punters putting their money on a Nizar win. But the odds have already shortened for Ismail, with the "handicap" of 5,000 votes for Ismail on nomination day dropping to just 2,000 votes yesterday.With BN pulling in the "big guns" and "aces", Nizar, the ousted Perak menteri besar, is no longer expecting a sure-win.
Yesterday, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad went to the ground to campaign for Ismail. He was a hit with the voters, who lapped up his jokes and jibes at the opposition.Issues like the Perak constitutional crisis and Pakatan Rakyat's track record in its 11-months of power were raised by Dr Mahathir. There's no doubt that how the Malays, who make up 63.5 per cent of the electorate, vote will be crucial.Talk on the ground is that Nizar must get 45 per cent of the Malay votes or he can say goodbye to his chances of scoring a point on his ouster, which he insists is illegal.The Chinese, who form the second biggest group at 27.1 per cent, have a soft spot for Nizar but with new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak making it a point to visit Sin Chew Daily, the largest-circulation Chinese newspaper in the country, soon after his appointment to stress home his intention to engage the community, voters there might be swayed to give Ismail a chance, too.Hee Yit Foong, the state assemblywoman for Jelapang, who quit the DAP also finally came out in public to openly campaign for Ismail. The other two assemblymen -- Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) -- also made pitches for Ismail, but more importantly spilled the beans on their former party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Although Indians form just 9.1 per cent of the electorate, the freeing of two Hindraf leaders from ISA detention will surely score some points with some of them. In Bukit Selambau, 15 candidates are vying for the state seat but the fight is seen as between BN's Datuk S. Ganesan and PKR's S. Manikumar.Betting among local punters is on how many votes the independents could attract or even if they would be able to get back their RM5,000 deposit.Several independents claimed they were offered RM1 million to withdraw. But the lack of seriousness of these independents could be seen from the fact that three of them even campaigned together.But the fight between BN and PKR is intense. On several occasions scuffles broke out between their campaign workers and supporters. The ballot paper in Bukit Selambau will also be the largest ever. It measures 50cm long and 20cm wide. Voters have been told to fold it four times so that it can go into the slot of the ballot boxes.Over in Batang Ai, the fight is between "the beginning of the end" and the "end of the beginning".There are only 8,006 voters here, with the vast majority being Ibans (7,608), but this election is seen by BN as the end of the beginning of PKR's ambitions in Sarawak, which must call for a state election by next year. However, PKR has told voters that a win for it would spell the beginning of the end for BN, and specifically Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud's reign.With Ibans outnumbering the handful of Chinese voters (274), Malays (117) and others (seven), campaigners including those who are not Ibans used the "Rentap" language to woo the community.Rentap was a feared Iban warrior who fought against James Brooke in the early days of Sarawak's history. "The underlying cause is the same. In the old days, Rentap fought with spears and machetes against our enemy but now we have to use our brains to keep away the unwanted from ruining our future," said one BN campaigner.Another from the opposing side said: "Our people have to start an uprising against tyranny and discrimination just like what Rentap did. If you don't fight, we will remain poor."BN's Malcom Mussen Lamoh and PKR's Jawah Gerang are not only old friends but also share relatives in many of the longhouses. Obviously, the candidates have not been trading insults but the parties they represent have been at each other's throat.
From 8am, the 55,562 voters in Bukit Gantang, Perak; 35,140 in Bukit Selambau, Kedah; and 8,006 in Batang Ai, Sarawak will be lining up at polling centres to make their choices known.Every voter in each of these constituencies will, no doubt, feel that the by-election in their area is most important. But most eyes will be on the parliamentary constituency of Bukit Gantang where Barisan Nasional's Ismail Saffian is up against Pas' Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin and independent Kamarul Ramizu Idris.No one is actually giving Kamarul much of a chance, with punters putting their money on a Nizar win. But the odds have already shortened for Ismail, with the "handicap" of 5,000 votes for Ismail on nomination day dropping to just 2,000 votes yesterday.With BN pulling in the "big guns" and "aces", Nizar, the ousted Perak menteri besar, is no longer expecting a sure-win.
Yesterday, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad went to the ground to campaign for Ismail. He was a hit with the voters, who lapped up his jokes and jibes at the opposition.Issues like the Perak constitutional crisis and Pakatan Rakyat's track record in its 11-months of power were raised by Dr Mahathir. There's no doubt that how the Malays, who make up 63.5 per cent of the electorate, vote will be crucial.Talk on the ground is that Nizar must get 45 per cent of the Malay votes or he can say goodbye to his chances of scoring a point on his ouster, which he insists is illegal.The Chinese, who form the second biggest group at 27.1 per cent, have a soft spot for Nizar but with new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak making it a point to visit Sin Chew Daily, the largest-circulation Chinese newspaper in the country, soon after his appointment to stress home his intention to engage the community, voters there might be swayed to give Ismail a chance, too.Hee Yit Foong, the state assemblywoman for Jelapang, who quit the DAP also finally came out in public to openly campaign for Ismail. The other two assemblymen -- Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) -- also made pitches for Ismail, but more importantly spilled the beans on their former party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Although Indians form just 9.1 per cent of the electorate, the freeing of two Hindraf leaders from ISA detention will surely score some points with some of them. In Bukit Selambau, 15 candidates are vying for the state seat but the fight is seen as between BN's Datuk S. Ganesan and PKR's S. Manikumar.Betting among local punters is on how many votes the independents could attract or even if they would be able to get back their RM5,000 deposit.Several independents claimed they were offered RM1 million to withdraw. But the lack of seriousness of these independents could be seen from the fact that three of them even campaigned together.But the fight between BN and PKR is intense. On several occasions scuffles broke out between their campaign workers and supporters. The ballot paper in Bukit Selambau will also be the largest ever. It measures 50cm long and 20cm wide. Voters have been told to fold it four times so that it can go into the slot of the ballot boxes.Over in Batang Ai, the fight is between "the beginning of the end" and the "end of the beginning".There are only 8,006 voters here, with the vast majority being Ibans (7,608), but this election is seen by BN as the end of the beginning of PKR's ambitions in Sarawak, which must call for a state election by next year. However, PKR has told voters that a win for it would spell the beginning of the end for BN, and specifically Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud's reign.With Ibans outnumbering the handful of Chinese voters (274), Malays (117) and others (seven), campaigners including those who are not Ibans used the "Rentap" language to woo the community.Rentap was a feared Iban warrior who fought against James Brooke in the early days of Sarawak's history. "The underlying cause is the same. In the old days, Rentap fought with spears and machetes against our enemy but now we have to use our brains to keep away the unwanted from ruining our future," said one BN campaigner.Another from the opposing side said: "Our people have to start an uprising against tyranny and discrimination just like what Rentap did. If you don't fight, we will remain poor."BN's Malcom Mussen Lamoh and PKR's Jawah Gerang are not only old friends but also share relatives in many of the longhouses. Obviously, the candidates have not been trading insults but the parties they represent have been at each other's throat.
Ref:'nstonline'
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