Suhaizan says victory in Pulai shows voters recognise Pakatan-BN cooperation

Newly elected Pulai Member of Parliament Suhaizan Kayit reacts after the announcement of Pulai by-election results at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim in Johor Baru September 9, 2023. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

By Ben Tan

Saturday, 09 Sep 2023 11:48 PM MYT

JOHOR BARU, Sept 9 — Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) new Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat described his victory in the by-election tonight as recognition of the cooperation within the unity government.

He said the win also showed that the unity government was well received in Johor.

“With a majority of over 18,000, this is a convincing majority for the government led by prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” he told reporters shortly after he was announced as the Pulai parliamentary by-election winner at the Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim here tonight.

Suhaizan, a former Johor state Speaker, won with a majority of 18,641 votes after polling a total of 48,283 votes, defeating Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Zulkifli Jaafar who won 28,642 votes and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi with only 528 votes.

Suhaizan said that the victory was also the result of the close cooperation between the PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery, with the assistance of the media and other parties involved.

“I am grateful to the unity government for my victory in Pulai. I thank all the voters who put their trust in me to be a Pulai MP.

“I also would like to express my appreciation to the election machinery that worked hard for me to win since the start of the campaign,” he said, adding that the victory will have a positive effect for the country.

Regarding the low turnout in the Pulai by-election, Suhaizan said that one of the factors that influenced the situation was because some voters were not aware there was a by-election or they were not interested.

In addition to that, he said the heavy rain in the morning was also a factor that influenced the low percentage.

Suhaizan, who is also a Johor Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) vice chief, said that his priority would be immediately apply for allocations for the Pulai parliament to solve the people’s problems.

Earlier, PH officially won both the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state by-elections tonight, despite bad weather and a very low voter turnout.

Suhaizan commanded a comfortable win with a 18,641 vote-majority by polling 48,283 votes in a three-cornered contest. Closest rival PN’s Zulkifli Jaafar polled 29,642 votes and independent hopeful Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi won 528 votes.

In Simpang Jeram, PH’s Nazri Abdul Rahman polled 13,844 votes, while PN’s Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya received 10,330 votes, while independent candidate S. Jeganathan managed only 311 votes in the three-way contest.

Both by-elections were called following the death of its incumbent Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who was also the Amanah deputy president, due to a brain hemorrhage on July 23. The domestic trade and cost of living minister was 61.