Sweet victory: Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (centre) and Pang with other unity government leaders and supporters celebrating her victory.
HULU SELANGOR: Pakatan Harapan’s Pang Sock Tao has retained the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) state seat by a 3,869-vote majority, beating three other candidates in a by-election that was touted as a barometer of support for the unity government alliance.
Pang’s winning majority was just 250 votes less than her predecessor, the late Lee Kee Hiong, who garnered 4,119 ballots in the 2023 state elections.
However, the turnout rate of voters in yesterday’s by-election was 61.51%, compared to 69.2% last year.
Pakatan’s victory, however, will be challenged by its closest rival, Perikatan Nasional, who vowed to file an election petition claiming that the ruling coalition had misused government machinery in the run-up to the election.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said earlier this week that the Opposition coalition, of which PAS is a member, will file the petition in the event of a Pakatan victory.
As vote tallying ended at the Hulu Selangor Multipurpose Hall and District Sports Complex, the Election Commission announced that Pang received 14,000 votes, followed by 10,131 for Perikatan’s Khairul Azhari Saut.
Parti Rakyat Malaysia’s Hafizah Zainuddin and Independent candidate Nyau Ke Xin officially lost their deposits after only garnering 152 and 188 votes, respectively.
There are 40,413 eligible voters in 18 polling districts in the constituency.
Speaking to reporters after her victory, Pang said her first order of business is to fulfil her campaign promises to fix KKB’s infrastructure problems.
“This includes streetlights, clogged drains and even Internet connectivity. For each issue, there are varying time frames to resolve them holistically, with some also being able to be resolved much faster,” said the 31-year-old former press secretary to Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
“I will find solutions with my team, the local council, and the state government,” added Pang, who is an electrical and electronic engineer by training.
Known after the popular hill town after which it is named, KKB’s ethnic breakdown is almost evenly split between Malays and non-Malays.
Malay voters make up 51.9%, Chinese 30.5%, Indians 17.3% and Orang Asli 0.3%, according to data from think-tank Institut Darul Ehsan.
For more information on the results, go to The Star Online.
