SHAH ALAM, Sept 3 — Voters in Pulai are urged to come out and vote in the upcoming September 9 by-election to ensure victory for the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (Harapan-BN) pact, subsequently maintaining the Unity Government’s two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari was quoted by Berita Harian as saying that the recent state election in Selangor should serve as a lesson after poor turnout, as a result of overconfidence, saw the Harapan-BN alliance lose their two-thirds majority hold of the state government.
He noted that in the Selangor poll last month, only 71 per cent of voters cast their ballot, while the Chinese community saw a much poorer turnout rate of 61 per cent.
“This caused the Harapan-BN pact to lose four seats with very slim majorities, resulting in us losing our two-thirds majority,” he said during an election ceramah in Bukit Indah, Johor Bahru last night.
In the August 12 election, Harapan lost Dengkil by 407 votes, Sungai Kandis (167), Gombak Setia (58) and Taman Medan (30).
“I know many are saying Harapan-BN has a huge chance to win in Pulai, but I also hope we won’t be too comfortable. If that is the case, then what happened in Selangor will repeat.”
Amirudin noted that many in Selangor were convinced and felt overconfident that Harapan-BN would maintain its two-thirds majority, leading them not to come out to vote.
“If we had increased the voters’ turnout by 0.5 per cent, we could have won the four (aforementioned) seats and maintained our strong hold in the state assembly.”
Separately, Amirudin urged Pulai voters to ensure the Unity Government’s victory and put a stop to Perikatan Nasional’s supposed claim of a political wave in the country.
“Voters should also maintain this seat under Harapan-BN as a show of respect to the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who has contributed massively (to the constituency and country).”
