KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - Indeed, the numbers at the Pelangai by-election showed PN-PAS' 'Green Wave' is anything but dead - yet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim closed both eyes to the sinking reality before him, preferring to rely on rhetoric to deflect details on a rather hollow win at the Pahang state seat.
"Umno won the seat with a significantly reduced majority and that says it all," a political pundit told Politics Now!
"It was basically a straight fight between Anwar's Madani government and the opposition and if Pakatan Harapan supporters, be it from DAP, PKR or Amanah, had transferred their votes to their new brother Umno, then margin of victory should have exceeded what was achieved previously."
However, this does not appear to be the case - putting a question mark on the sustainability of an already 'sensitive' Pakatan-Umno alliance.
On Saturday, Umno's Amizar Adam won Pelangai with a 2,949-vote majority after garnering 7,324 votes, defeating PAS' Kasim Samat (4,375 votes) and independent candidate Haslihelmy DM Zulhasni (47 votes).
MALAYS 'ALMOST ENTIRELY' SWINGING SUPPORT OVER TO PN-PAS?
Yet to Anwar, Pelangai was an "inspiring" game-changer - despite the stark warning from PN chief Muhyiddin Yassin that in the Pahang poll, just as in the just-held state elections in 6 states and the twin-polls in Johor, Malays were almost entirely swinging their support to PN-PAS.
“It also inspires the unity government to continue promoting the national development agenda for the well-being of the people based on the Madani economic framework,” Anwar wrote in a self-congratulatory post on Facebook.
He was immediately panned by PN-PAS leaders.
“From a 4,000-odd (4,048) majority to just 2,949, Umno cannot rest easy. The votes from PH supporters were not transferred to BN as they’d expected,” PN's Razali Idris scoffed at Anwar's verbose.
“This by-election shows BN has failed to add support although it had cooperated with PH, and with also having government machinery at their disposal,” said PN chief Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to Muhyiddin, PN had done even better in Pelangai this time than in the previous November polls - adding 1,115 votes while Umno saw a reduction of its majority from 4,048 votes in the general election to 2,949 in the by-election.
Politics Now!
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