SEREMBAN: Pakatan Harapan (PH) respects the decision taken by voters in the Rantau State constituency who chose Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan as their elected representative in the by-election in Rantau.
Congratulating Mohamad for his victory, PH de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pix) in his statement last night said the defeat served as a reminder to the PH leadership to give due attention to the people’s fear regarding economic issues and the cost of living.
“I am confident that PH will rise again to get the people’s support after this. I also thank the machinery of Keadilan (PKR) as well as other component parties of PH for showing maturity and a good example during the campaign session,” said the PKR president who is also the Member of Parliament for Port Dickson.
Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan PH chairman who is also the Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said the defeat in the by-election for the State seat of Rantau would not affect any of his plans for the development of the state.
He said despite the defeat, PH still led the composition of the Negri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly with 20 seats compared to the 16 held by the opposition.
“We will not stop here because it does not involve matters that affect the government’s credibility. Regardless of the defeat, I will work 24 hours to ensure comfort for the people,” he told reporters at a media conference at the PH Main Operations Room here.
Meanwhile, he said an investigation would be carried out if there were reports on alleged elements of sabotage that led to the defeat of PH in the by-election.
In the by-election, Mohamad who is also Umno Deputy President, retained the Rantau state seat for the fourth term after defeating three other challengers namely Dr. S. Streram who represented the PH and two other independent candidates namely housewife R. Malarvizhi and former lecturer Mohd Nor Yassin.
The former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar won with a majority of 4,510 votes after polling 10,397 votes while Streram, who is also Deputy Head of the PKR Rembau Division, received 5,887 votes. Malarvizhi and Mohd Nor polled 83 and 79 votes respectively .— Bernama
