PAS Wins Nail Biting Sungai Limau By-Election

PAS has denied claims on the presence of phantom voters in the Sungai Limau by-election, saying that a lot of the electorates were outstation voters.

"They are not phantom voters. Their families have been there for years, they studied there. It's just that they worked elsewhere and then go back to vote.
"Claims of phantom voters are untrue and does not make sense," he said at the Parliament lobby today.

“Umno are fools. The people in Sungai Limau have been voters for ages. They are not phantom voters. They are the second and third generation residents in that place,” said Mahfuz.

freemalaysiatoday.com

“Are you saying that (Kedah Menteri Besar) Mukhriz Mahathir is a phantom since he lives in KL but is a registered voter in Kedah?
“Are you saying that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is a phantom voter because he lives in Seri Perdana?” Mahfuz said.

freemalaysiatoday.com

He also took a swipe at Umno, saying that they were "bahlol"(stupid) for not verifying the electoral roll properly.
"This is an issue created by Umno. Previously, they had said there was no phantom voters, now they say there are," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim today claimed there were a number of phantom voters in the Sungai Limau by-election on Monday.

He told a press conference at the Parliament lobby that these voters were not from the Sungai Limau constituency but instead were “outsiders” who had voted in the election.
"We could not trace these people. They have addresses in Sungai Limau but they are not living there.
"I feel sad this has happened," the Arau MP added.

themalaysianinsider.com

“You look at Bukit Besar which is one of the polling centres in Sungai Limau. There are more voters than residents living there and we were unable to trace them,” said the minister during a press conference at Dewan Rakyat, today.

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He said the main problem was caused by the voters themselves who had not updated their addresses on their MyKad.

“We faced huge problems during the Sungai Limau by-election as we could not detect the listed voters. We will lodge official complaints to the EC in all constituencies to ensure the issue of phantom voters will be resolved.

“I referred it to the EC (Election Commission), and they said they can’t do anything... I feel sad that this could happen, and if it is allowed to continue it will create an overlap in voters.

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Shahidan promised to disclose tomorrow the number of phantom voters who had voted in the by-election on Monday.

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“The BN does not do this,” he declared during a press conference at the Parliament lobby here, implying that Pakatan had shifted voters around to bolster support in certain areas.

Analysis of the just-concluded Sungai Limau by-election saw an erosion of Chinese and Malay support for PAS, even though it won the battle.

PAS, which won the state seat by a 60% lower-vote majority, also lost its grip on four of the 13 districts it had won in the last general election.

Barisan Nasional made greater inroads into the PAS stronghold, winning 10 out of the 19 polling districts in the constituency that has been a PAS fortress for the last 18 years.

The result of the Sungai Limau state by-election, at a glance, shows an increase in the Chinese support for Barisan Nasional (BN), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said. "At a glance, there is an increase, but we have to look further".

PM Najib: "BN’s performance can be said to be encouraging. Despite having lost (in the by-election), in terms of majority votes, before this we lost 2,774 votes, now we only lost by 1,084 votes. This means there is a trend towards (supporting) BN".

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“We know that the constituency is PAS’s stronghold because we have failed to win the seat in five general elections. However, in the by-election, we managed to penetrate 10 polling centres compared to PAS, which only managed nine,” he said.

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"The result also shows that democracy and transparency are still alive in Malaysia and that the by-election process and result cannot be questioned," Najib added.

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Deputy prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin: “The area, despite being touted as a PAS stronghold, has been penetrated by BN, and I am confident that a larger portion of those who gave us their votes were fence-sitters who may have supported the opposition but are drawn to us, this time around”

freemalaysiatoday.com

PAS has retained the Sungai Limau state seat with a reduced majority of 1,084 votes.

Its candidate, Mohd Azam Abd Samat, 32, garnered 12,069 votes against Barisan Nasional's Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim, 52, who polled 10,985 votes.

Barisan received greater support from the elderly, securing the majority in 59% of the 37 polling streams for older voters.

PAS, meanwhile, secured the majority in 67% of the 21 polling streams for younger voters.

The seat is considered a PAS stronghold because it was won by the late Azizan Abdul Razak for five elections in a row.

malaysiakini.com

BN is looking to finally wrest the seat from PAS with their "Dare to Migrate" slogan, with the help of newly-minted Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir.

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Seventeen polling centres in the Sungai Limau constituency opened at 8am Monday to enable 27,222 registered voters to cast their votes in the by-election for the state seat.

They will close at 5pm and counting of votes will start at 6pm at the vote tallying centre, Dewan Lukman Al-Hakim, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Yan, here.

Both candidates in the straight fight for the Sungai Limau state seat by-election have cast their votes this morning.
Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim and his wife voted at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Dulang, here at 8.47am while Mohd Azam Abd Samat from PAS cast his vote at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Besar at 8.30am.

freemalaysiatoday.com

After a hectic 12 days of campaigning by BN and PAS, Sungai Limau’s 27, 222 voters today decide on their new assemblyperson to replace the late Azizan Abdul Razak, the former Kedah MB who died on Sept 26.

malaysiakini.com

The full results of the Sungai Limau state seat by-election are expected to be announced tomorrow at 9pm.
Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof expected the vote counting to be concluded before night.

nst.com.my

The result of tomorrow's Sungai Limau by-election appears to be a cliff-hanger with pundits saying if PAS wins, it would be by a reduced majority while not dismissing the possibility of the Barisan Nasional (BN) wresting the seat by a narrow margin.

PAS is expected to survive the Sungai Limau by-election with a win, though with a slimmer majority, according to a study done by research firm Ilham Centre. According to Ilham Centre executive chairman Mohammed Hisommudin Bakar Muhammad (pic), PAS' strong voter support among the voters in the area is the main factor for the expected win.

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The late Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak, who held the seat for four terms since the 1995 GE, is said to have won it because of his credibility as a leader respected by friends and opponents and not due to he contesting on a PAS ticket. Therefore, the PAS candidate is not expected to have an easy ride, especially since the Kedah administration is no longer under PAS but is led by Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, who has a similar personality as Azizan.

Although BN is seen as the underdog, the area saw its machinery working hard led by BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, by bringing in central political figures to support Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim, the BN candidate.

BN will be represented by former senior lecturer at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim, 52, who is also a Jerai Umno division committee member, and PAS, by its Jerai Youth head, Mohd Azam Samat, 37, who is also a director of Pusat Asuhan Tunas Islam Kedah.

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Both sides are banking on the local factor in their candidate choice as BN's Dr. Ahmad Soihaimi Lazim and PAS's Mohd Azam Abd Samat are from the state constituency.

thesundaily.my

Muhyiddin said Dr Ahmad Sohaimi, 52, from Titi Batu in Guar Chempedak, near here, fulfilled the party’s criteria based on his educational background and personality. “Our candidate can ensure changes in the area by voicing the needs of Sungai Limau folk,” said Muhyiddin.

"Yes, we may have a good chance. Even when we know that the challenge is bigger as compared to during the general election in which we (BN) lost with about 2,774 votes. But it is not something impossible to improve our performance.

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"We hope our candidate would go the ground and cover every place. He will be introduced to voters and residents here. He is an ordinary local person and he knows what it is like (here). God willing we will achieve success," said Muhyiddin

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He said BN wanted to ensure that Sungai Limau would reap the benefits of development, at par with what is being done at state level under Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and at federal level under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

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The new Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir is also under pressure to deliver, after his narrow loss in the Umno vice-presidential election last weekend.

themalaysianinsider.com

The announcement was made by PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang late last night at the PAS Information Centre in Sungai Limau Dalam.

"He is a local boy from Bukit Besar who will not abandon the people.

thesundaily.my

"We hope that Mohd Azam will continue the struggle by the hero and revive democracy," he told the crowd of over 500 people referring to former Kedah Menteri Besar Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak.

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We want to maintain the continuous victory that has been in PAS' hand, since 1995 when the state seat was called Sala," he added.

thesundaily.my

Kedah PAS, under its new leader Datuk Mahfuz Omar, badly needs to ensure the seat remain in its grip lest it confirms opinions that the Islamist party is losing the Malay ground.

It is widely perceived that PAS leaders do not have the ability nor skills to govern Kedah when it won the state in 2008.

themalaysianinsider.com

Fed up with poor management and bickerings between party leaders, voters decided to revert to Barisan Nasional at the May 5 general election.

themalaysianinsider.com

The Election Commission (EC) today announced Oct 23 and Nov 4 as the nomination and polling days, respectively, for the Sungai Limau state by-election in Kedah.

thesundaily.my

The nomination day, meanwhile, is fixed on Oct 23, hence allowing 12 days of campaigning. The EC will mobilise 492 election workers to facilitate the election, which is estimated to cost RM1,336,987.

malaysiakini.com

“The most important thing for us is for the by-election to be made before the SPM examination (on Nov 6) because many polling centres and halls used belong to schools.

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He said 27.222 voters would cast their votes at 17 voting centres which had 58 channels.

nst.com.my

There will be no advance polling for the by-election since there are no military or police voters in Sungai Limau, whereas those eligible for postal voting such as media personnel and overseas Malaysians may start registering today.

malaysiakini.com

"Voters can also telephone the EC headquarters in Putrajaya at 03-88856565 and the Kedah EC office at 04-700 1313". Abdul Aziz said Malaysian citizens abroad, election officers and workers and journalists could apply for postal voting from today by downloading the form from the EC website.

thesundaily.my

Kedah Umno is ready to face the Sungai Limau by-election although it would be held a few days after the party election, said state Umno chairman Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Mukhriz said the state Barisan has yet to finalise the candidate for the by-election, but said that the candidate’s name would be announced on Oct 21. The Kedah Mentri Besar said although Kedah Umno is busy with the party election, it would not dampen the party’s and Barisan Nasional’s preparations for the by-election.

“Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will visit the Sungai Limau State constituency on Oct 8 and discuss with Kedah BN on preparation for the by-election,” he told reporters.

abnxcess.com

PAS had won the seat in the past five general elections.
It was reported PAS had retained the seat since 1995 due to the personality of former Kedah Menteri Besar Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak.

nst.com.my

Azizan, 69, a former state PAS commissioner, managed to retain the Sungai Limau state seat during the last elections despite his ill-health.

Azizan, from PAS, was a former Kedah menteri besar. He held the seat for five terms and in the last election he defeated his cousin, Fazillah Mohd Ali from Barisan Nasional, by a 2,774 vote majority.

themalaysianinsider.com

The seat fell vacant after incumbent and former Kedah Menteri Besar Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak died on Sept 26 about five months after both his legs were amputated due to complications brought on by diabetes.

He then succumbed to a combination of sepsis and multiple organ failure after falling unconscious due to two heart attacks the day earlier.

The PAS assemblyperson was also a one-term menteri besar of Kedah until BN wrested control of the state in the general election.

malaysiakini.com

This will be the second by-election that has been called since the 13th general election. The first was the Kuala Besut by-election in Terengganu.

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Following the death of Kuala Besut's State Assemblyman Dr A Rahman Mokhtar, the very first by-election since GE13 will be held to fill the now vacant seat. [CLICK FOR FULL STORY]

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Astro Awani menunjukkan kepentingan "spellcheck" (semakan ejaan). [KLIK UNTUK CERITA PENUH]

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