KLUANG: Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah winning the Mahkota state seat is a reflection of the strength of the unity within Barisan Nasional, says state executive councillor Lee Ting Han.
The Johor investment, trade, consumer affairs and human resources committee chairman said the election result was also a reflection of the people's approval of the state government's efforts toward making Johor an advanced state.
"Barisan and the state government will continue its efforts to push forward the Maju Johor agenda.
"The victory of this by-election belongs to all the people of Mahkota and demonstrates the resilient unity among Barisan's component parties," Lee, who is also MCA Mahkota by-election coordinator, said in a statement.
Syed Hussien, who was Barisan candidate for the Mahkota by-election, won the seat with a comfortable 20,648 majority against Perikatan Nasional's Mohamad Haizan Jaafar on Saturday (Sept 28).
Lee added that MCA leaders have also gone all out to boost support for Syed Hussien as the party understand the significance of the election.
“As MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said earlier, the Mahkota by-election was crucial for Barisan.
"Although he (Dr Wee) was overseas and could not be present on polling day, he personally led party members during nomination day," he said.
He added that Dr Wee was also very involved in the early canvassing efforts and has been boosting the morale of the campaign team.
"This shows the Barisan's spirit of unity in fighting for the people’s rights," he said.
Lee also noted that MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, who has not been feeling well, also insisted on assisting in the campaign.
"Dr Mah had also urged MCA members in the Mahkota area to vote and encourage citizens living elsewhere to return and cast their vote for the Barisan candidate.
"MCA’s efforts demonstrated its role as a loyal partner within Barisan, always stepping up at critical moments," said Lee, who is also Paloh assemblyman.
He also said that MCA youth and women wings, also actively visited voters and even created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) campaign song.
“MCA focused on securing the crucial Chinese votes, and its phone centre successfully contacted and mobilized nearly 40% of the votes before 6pm.
"The persistent efforts to get out the vote were undoubtedly one of the keys to victory, especially given the generally lower turnout in by-elections.
“We promise that the Johor state government will continue working for the well-being of the people," he said.
The Mahkota state seat became vacant when its assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain from Umno, passed away on Aug 2.
Sharifah Azizah had won the seat in the March 2022 Johor state election by a 5,166 majority, beating three other candidates from Perikatan, Pakatan Harapan and Parti Warisan.
On Saturday (Sept 28), Syed Hussien, who is also Kluang Umno youth chief, won the election after securing 27,995 while Mohamad Haizan received 7,348.
Voter turnout for the by-election was 53.84%, which is slightly lower compared to the 57.34% turnout for the seat during the state election in 2022.
