PORT DICKSON: PAS has attributed its loss at the Ayer Kuning by-election to low voter turnout.
Deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said claims by some political observers that PAS was defeated for focusing on pig farms in the area during campaigning were unfounded.
He said the Election Commission should do more to ensure a higher turnout during future by-elections.
"We saw a very low turnout on Saturday and unfortunately, this does not reflect a true picture on the ground or the support we enjoyed," he said when met at PAS' national level Hari Raya open house in Lukut near here.
The Ayer Kuning by-election was a three-cornered fight between Barisan candidate Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir, Perikatan's Abd Muhaimin Malek and Bawani KS of Parti Sosialis Malaysia.
Dr Mohamad Yusri won the seat with a majority of 5,506 votes against Abd Muhaimin and Bawani, who secured 6,059 and 1,106 votes respectively.
Total voter turnout was 58%.
Tuan Ibrahim said many of the party's outstation supporters could not return to vote as they had already been back during Hari Raya.
He claimed some supporters could not get leave from work to return and vote.
The by-election was called following the death of its incumbent, Ishsam Shahruddin, on Feb 22 due to a heart attack.
In the 15th General Election in Nov 2022, Ishsam, also the Tapah Umno Chief, won the Ayer Kuning seat with a majority of 2,213 votes in a five-cornered contest.
Tuan Ibrahim said he was pleased non-Malays had come forward to help the party's election machinery during campaigning.
"Although we lost, I am certain we managed to make inroads in some areas," he said.
Tuan Ibrahim said Perikatan had expected a tough fight as the constituency had always been a Barisan stronghold.
"They used both federal and state government machinery but we still managed to secure more than 6,000 votes.
"In fact, we also won one polling centre where the pig farms were located and this shows that this is a serious issue there," he said.
Tuan Ibrahim reiterated the party's decision to highlight the pig farms issue was neither racial nor religious.
"We had taken samples for testing and two came back positive for environmental pollution caused by pig farming.
"We also had non-Malays complaining about the pig farms so please do not tell us that we were harping on racial or religious issues," he said.
He said the party raised the issue as it was related to the environment and residents' health.
"Sometimes the pigs are transported early in the mornings when parents are taking their kids to school.
"This to us is not right," he said, adding that opponents had spun the issue into a racial one.
He said under the law, pig farms should be located at least 200m from the nearest settlement.
"But there was one which was located only 140m away and this is wrong," he said.
Tuan Ibrahim said the Election Commission should seriously look at issues raised by political observers including non-governmental organisations such as Bersih during the campaigning period.
"Some observers as well as Bersih had raised issues on election irregularities and we hope these are looked into," he added.
Tuan Ibrahim said the party would conduct a post-mortem early next month on the Ayer Kuning by-election.
