NIBONG TEBAL: Abidin Ismail's wish to continue the legacy of his boss and predecessor came true when the Perikatan Nasional candidate emerged victorious in the Sungai Bakap state by-election.
The 56-year-old former logistics executive garnered a total of 14,489 votes, giving him a winning majority of 4,267 votes.
Abidin defeated Pakatan Harapan candidate Dr Joohari Ariffin, a former educator, who managed to secure 10,222 votes.
According to the Election Commission (EC), there was a total of 208 spoilt votes and a voter turnout of 63.45 per cent.
The by-election was held following the death of incumbent Nor Zamri Latiff on May 24 due to stomach inflammation.
In the 2023, state election the late Nor Zamri had captured Sungai Bakap by a 1,563-vote majority defeating Nurhidayah Che Rose from Pakatan.
Malays make up 59.2% of voters in the state constituency, which had been a Pakatan stronghold since the 12th general election in 2008. Chinese voters comprise 22.4%, while Indians and others make up 17.2% and 1.2% of voters respectively.
The Sungai Bakap state poll is the eighth by-election since GE15. Previous by-elections were for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat in Terengganu, the Simpang Jeram state seat and the Pulai parliamentary seat in Johor, the Pelangai state seat in Pahang, the Jepak state seat in Sarawak, the Kemaman parliamentary seat in Terengganu and the Kuala Kubu Baharu state seat in Selangor.
Even though its result would have little impact on Pakatan's hold on Penang, Sungai Bakap was framed by Perikatan as a referendum on the Federal Government's management of the economy especially its decision to replace blanket diesel subsidies with a targeted system.
Perikatan has blamed the targeted subsidy system for raising the prices of goods and services, while the unity government alliance that governs Putrajaya claims that most of these subsidies are smuggled out of the country.
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