HULU SELANGOR: The Barisan Nasional (BN) recaptured the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat last night when its candidate P Kamalanathan of the MIC beat prominent lawyer and ex-minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) with a 1,725-vote majority in one of the toughest by-elections since the 2008 general election.
SWEET VICTORY:Najib, Muhyiddin celebrate BN’s win with P Kamalanathan (centre) at Dewan Serbaguna Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor. — Bernama photo
Public relations officer Kamalanathan, who is MIC information chief, polled 24,997 votes to beat Zaid, who had joined PKR after he was expelled from Umno in December 2008. Zaid, who is the former Kota Baharu MP, polled 23,272 votes.
There were 731 spoilt votes in the by-election which saw a total of 48,935 voters or 75.87 per cent of the electorate cast their votes yesterday. The constituency, which is as big as Melaka, has 64,500 voters.
In the 2008 general election that was deemed a political ‘tsunami’ for the BN, MIC deputy president and four-term MP Datuk G Palanivel failed to retain the Hulu Selangor seat, losing by a 198-majority to PKR’s Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad. Dr Zainal Abidin died on March 25 this year, necessitating the by-election.
Almost the entire BN leadership, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, was at the multipurpose hall and District Office Sports Complex in Kuala Kubu Baharu town last night to celebrate the coalition’s victory as thousands of BN supporters cheered outside.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, Gerakan president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president Datuk M Kayveas.
Since the 2008 general election, there have been 10 by-elections, with the BN winning three, including last night’s victory which is regarded as crucial in its efforts to regain the confidence of the people and its two-third majority in parliament.
It was also a sweet victory for the BN, especially Najib, who had declared during the campaign trail that the by-election was not merely the election of MP but also a referendum on the new direction of the country.
Najib personally led the BN onslaught immediately after returning from an overseas trip, going into new villages, towns, Felda settlements and traditional villages while Muhyiddin almost camped in the constituency since nomination day on April 17.
Next month, the country will see a by-election in Sibu, Sarawak — the 11th since the 2008 general election. It was not all smooth sailing for the BN as it was involved in a bitter tussle to pick the right candidate at the outset, with Samy Vellu insisting on Palanivel while the BN top guns wanted a new face as demanded by the grassroots.
Finally, they agreed on Kamalanathan, a compromise candidate.
The BN also faced the opposition pact’s top guns, led by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but the huge crowds at their ‘ceramah’ (talks) failed to put the brakes on the coalition which went to the ground to solve the more pressing local problems, including bread-and-butter issues. — Bernama