Balanced political landscape key factor in Unity Government's win in KKB - Analyst

HULU SELANGOR - The victory of Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Pang Sock Tao in the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election is a clear signal that the people want to be represented by an assemblyman aligned with both the state and federal governments, according to political analysts.

The analysts said the victory of the former press secretary to the Housing and Local Government Minister was partly due to the excellent track record of the former assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong and proved that the people have confidence in the Unity Government and want development continuity.

Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi, a socio-political analyst at Universiti Malaya, said the voters believed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had brought political stability, economic prosperity and harmony and this greatly contributed to Pang's success.

"The voters are confident that the federal government led by Anwar and the Selangor government led by Amirudin can steer the country and state to greater heights," he told Bernama here tonight.

Awang Azman said attempts by certain parties urging the Indian community to boycott the by-election seemed to have failed, proving that voters were wise in rejecting campaigns using the 3R (race, religion and royalty) sentiments.

Dr Jazimin Zakaria, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Kedah, said the resounding win of the Unity Government candidate demonstrates the maturity of voters in evaluating issues raised by the opposition during the campaign.

"The voters wisely evaluated the issues raised by the opposition as non-critical, including matters related to vernacular education, when what the people want is simply balance in the political landscape of the country," he said.

Professor Datuk Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, senior lecturer in political sociology at the Centre for Social Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, believes that factors such as having a good educational background, experience in government administration and politics, and having good relations with the federal and state governments contributed to Pang's victory.

"Another factor contributing to PH's success is the unity and commitment of all parties in the Unity Government coalition who campaigned for the Unity Government candidate," he said.

Pang won with a majority of 3,869 votes in the four-cornered fight, beating Khairul Azhari Saut (Perikatan Nasional), Hafizah Zainuddin (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) and Nyau Ke Xin (Independent). - BERNAMA