27-04-2025
BN Candidate's Win In Ayer Kuning By-election No Surprise
Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir when he was announced as the winner of the Ayer Kuning state by-election (PRK) at Dewan Merdeka Tapah last night.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- The victory of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir in the Ayer Kuning state by-election yesterday was expected and not surprising, said a political analyst.
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu deputy vice-chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) Prof Dr Mohd Izani Mohd Zain said BN's victory gave a clear picture of the current political situation in the state, which shows good cooperation between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and BN.
"This result is what we expected because Ayer Kuning is a traditional UMNO stronghold. We expected them to win… BN had the advantage and could win comfortably because of the votes of PH supporters.
"We see the political landscape in Perak as a very unique situation because the political collaboration between BN and PH is extremely good and this was reflected in the Ayer Kuning by-election. We also saw a very mature political election because there were no hot issues, instead only local issues have coloured the polemics and election campaign,' he said.
He said this as a guest on Bernama TV's Ruang Bicara programme titled "Analisis Keputusan PRK Ayer Kuning' (Analysis of Ayer Kuning By-Election Result) last night.
BN retained the Ayer Kuning seat when its candidate, Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir secured victory in the three-cornered fight with a 5,006-vote majority.
The Tapah UMNO Division secretary, also known as Ustaz Yusri, garnered 11,065 votes to defeat Abd Muhaimin Malek of Perikatan Nasional (PN), who scored 6,059 votes and Bawani KS of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), who obtained only 1,106 votes.
Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Political Science senior lecturer Mujibu Abd Muis said there is a need for all parties to view the consistently low voter turnout in the past few by-elections as a serious issue.
"Whatever happens in the context of a by-election, we must find a way to get voters to be more excited about them (by-elections) and view it as their civic duty (to go out and vote),' he said.
