Mahkota by-election: BN retains Johor state seat with massive win

Result seen as clear rejection of opposition alliance PN's religious and ethnic politics

- Zunaira Saieed

Barisan Nasional (BN) retained its state seat in the Mahkota by-election in Johor on Sept 28 by a resounding margin, demonstrating its continued dominance in the southern Malaysian state.

According to the official results, BN’s first-time candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, 40, won by 20,648 votes, garnering 27,995 votes, or about 79 per cent of the valid votes.

His Perikatan Nasional (PN) rival, 61-year-old former Johor state footballer Mohamad Haizan Jaafar, secured just 7,347 votes, representing about 21 per cent of the ballot.

After thanking the election machinery and “our friends in PH (Pakatan Harapan)”, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said: “Thank you to the Chinese voters as well for giving us their strong support, as we won big in the Dorset district polling centre, where Barisan received 3,159 votes against Perikatan’s 1,040.”

BN, an alliance led by the Umno party, controls the Johor state government with its super majority of 40 of the 56 seats in the state assembly. It is also part of the federal unity government headed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his coalition PH.

The opposition PN is dominated by Islamist party Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.