Polls: 24 women candidates win state seats

KUALA LUMPUR - Twenty-four out of the 71 women who contested in yesterday’s six state polls emerged victorious, according to the Election Commission (EC).

For Pakatan Harapan (PH), 15 of their 26 women candidates won, while eight out of 19 women candidates from Perikatan Nasional (PN) emerged triumphant.

PH candidate Phee Syn Tze, making her debut in the Sungai Puyu seat in Penang, was one of those who shone when she won with a 21,330 majority after securing 23,838 votes to defeat PN’s Andrew Teow (2,508 votes).

Another first-timer, 35-year-old Nurul Syazwani Noh of PN won the Permatang seat in Selangor with a majority of 1,728 votes.

The daughter of former Tanjong Karang member of Parliament Tan Sri Noh Omar garnered 12,850 votes to defeat PH’s Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri (11,122 votes).

Barisan Nasional (BN), meanwhile, banked on 12 women candidates but only one of them won, with Puan Sri Bibi Sharliza Mohd Khalid taking the Juasseh seat in Negeri Sembilan by beating PN’s Datuk Eddin Syazlee Shith with a slim 78-vote majority.

However, the other women candidates - 10 from Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), two from Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), one from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and one independent - failed to win. - BERNAMA