KUALA SELANGOR: It came as a big surprise when Barisan Nasional’s high-profile candidate Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz lost in the battle for the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat.
Incumbent Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad from Pakatan Harapan emerged winner in the fight with 31,033 votes and a slim majority of 1,002.
Tengku Zafrul put up a good fight and managed to garner 30,031 votes.
From the very beginning, there was no clear sign as to who would emerge victorious.
In one corner, Barisan offered Tengku Zafrul, a blue-blooded technocrat, said to be a financial wizard.
Pakatan offered Dr Dzulkefly, an experienced incumbent who had served the constituents for two terms.
Both had served in the Cabinet with Dr Dzulkefly being health minister during Pakatan's tenure as Federal Government and Tengku Zafrul as Finance Minister in the caretaker government.
Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said both men were heavyweights in their own right.
"It's a pity that Tengku Zafrul lost but he fought a good fight and lost to a strong candidate," added Dr Sivamurugan.
With Dr Dzulkefly successfully defending his seat, it is an indication that the people of Kuala Selangor were still behind Pakatan.
Perikatan Nasional's Ustaz Mohd Noor Shahar from PAS did not do that badly either with 23,639 votes.
However, GTA's Pejuang candidate Mohd Shahid Rosli, who is also Jeram assemblyman, only managed to secure 1,778 votes.
Only Dr Dzulkefly was present when returning officer Rahilah Rahmat announced the results late Saturday (Nov 19) night.
A total of 84,294 voters making up 82.20% of the district's registered voters had come out to vote.
There were also 303 registered voters there infected with Covid-19, but it is not known how many of them came out to vote.
