Big win: Mohamad and wife Raja Datin Seri Salbiah Tengku Nujumuddin exercising their right to vote in Rantau in this Bernama photo.
SEREMBAN: Barisan Nasional took it up a notch in Negri Sembilan where it won five of the eight parliamentary seats in GE15.
It successfully defended Rembau, Jempol and Jelebu, while wresting back Kuala Pilah and Tampin which it had lost to Pakatan Harapan in GE14 in 2018.
Pakatan retained Seremban, Rasah and Port Dickson.
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan won the Rembau seat with a majority of 19,897 votes in a five-way fight against Pakatan’s Jufitri Joha, who was also former Malaysian Youth Council president; state Perikatan Nasional secretary Mohd Nazree Mohd Yunus; Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s S. Tinagaran; and Gerakan Tanah Air’s (GTA) Ramly Awaluddin.
In GE14, Barisan’s Khairy Jamaluddin won the seat with a 4,364-vote majority.
In Jelebu, Barisan’s incumbent Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias also improved on his performance when he won with a majority of 8,125 votes in a four-way fight against Pakatan’s state assembly speaker Datuk Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, Perikatan’s Zaharuddin Baba Samion and GTA’s Ahmad Fakri Abu Samah.
In Jempol, Barisan’s Datuk Shamshulkahar Mohd Deli also did well in a four-cornered fight.
He won with a majority of 5,857 votes against Pakatan’s Norwani Ahmat, GTA’s former four-term Jempol MP Tan Sri Khalid Yunus and Perikatan’s Muhammad Noraffendy Mohd Salleh.
Loke ready to place his ballot at the voting centre in SJK (C) Sin Hua.
Barisan regained Kuala Pilah when its candidate, Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan, won with a majority of 6,483 votes against state Perikatan chief and incumbent Datuk Eddin Syazlee Shith, Pakatan’s Nor Azman Mohamad, GTA’s Kamarulzaman Kamdias and Warisan pro-tem committee chief Datuk Azman Idris.
The coalition also won in Tampin with its candidate Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa securing a 1,276-vote majority in a four-way race against Pakatan’s Muhammad Faiz Fadzil, who is also Permatang Pasir assemblyman in Penang; Perikatan’s Mejar (Rtd) Abdul Halim Abu Bakar and GTA’s Zamani Ibrahim.
Although Pakatan lost Kuala Pilah and Tampin, it won handsomely in Seremban and Rasah and was leading comfortably in Port Dickson at press time.
Seremban incumbent MP Anthony Loke defended his seat with a majority of 30,841 votes in a five-cornered fight against Barisan’s Wong Yin Ting, Perikatan’s Mohd Fadli Che Me, GTA’s Mohamad Jani Ismail and independent Izzat Lesly.
Pakatan also did well in Rasah where incumbent Cha Kee Chin won with a majority of 61,987 votes in a three-cornered fight against Barisan’s Ng Kian Nam and Perikatan’s Datuk David Choong Vee Heng.
In Port Dickson, its candidate Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun looked good to win the seat for Pakatan in a five-way battle.
At press time, Aminuddin was leading with a majority of more than 28,000 votes.
The other candidates are Perikatan’s and state PAS commissioner Rafiei Mustapha, Barisan’s Datuk P. Kamalanathan, GTA’s Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri and social activist Abdul Rani Kulup.
