BUKIT MERTAJAM: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Barisan Nasional accepts the decision of the voters in yesterday's Permatang Pasir by-election.
The Umno deputy president said the results showed that the BN had not paid attention to certain things in the by-election.
In a press conference shortly after the results became known, Muhyiddin noted that the percentage of voters that came out yesterday was slightly lower than that during the March 2008 general election.
However, he said there was only nominal change in the people's voting pattern and it was obvious that their attitude towards the BN had not changed much.
Nevertheless, he said BN accepted the people's decision as it was part of the democratic process.
He said the BN would conduct an in-depth analysis to determine why there was little support for the coalition in certain areas and see what could be done to overcome this.
Asked what had gone wrong considering that the BN had only lost narrowly in the Manik Urai by-election last month, Muhyiddin said things were different here although both were Pas strongholds.
"This is a different political scenario as it is not only a Pas stronghold but also a hardcore Anwar Ibrahim area," he said referring to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Muhyiddin said Permatang Pasir is a suburban area with substantial number of voters who were not swayed by the development agenda put forth by the BN.
Asked whether BN's choice of candidate had played a role in the loss, Muhyiddin said the opposition had succeeded in exploiting to the maximum the issues concerning Rohaizat Othman's background.
However, he said it was fortunate that the people began to warm up to Rohaizat towards the tail-end of the campaigning period.
Otherwise, the results could have been much worse, he added.
Muhyiddin said every by-election outcome had given the BN an insight into the people's state of mind and the coalition would strive to work harder and win them over.
"Hopefully, initiatives being taken by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will also win over the people.
"The party will also strengthen itself and I am confident we will recover."
Muhyiddin thanked the BN by-election machinery, which was headed by state Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, for the hard work they had put in throughout the campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment