KLUANG: Despite the low turnout rate among Chinese and Indian voters in the Mahkota by-election, its newly elected state assemblyman Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah has promised to serve everyone equally.
“As the assemblyman of Mahkota, I will serve everyone in the constituency, regardless of whether they came out to vote,” he said of the low turnout rate among Chinese and Indian voters.
“The election has ended and the question of whether or not people came out to vote is no longer important,” he said, following claims that the turnout rate among Chinese and Indian voters was as low as 32% and 34% respectively.
Syed Hussien of Barisan Nasional won by a 20,648-vote majority when he received 27,995 votes, while his opponent from Perikatan Nasional only managed to get 7,614 votes.
The Election Commission put the overall voter turnout at 53.84% compared to 57.34% during the state elections in 2022.
Among the reasons political party leaders and analysts have given for the low turnout rate is the high population of young people working outside the constituency in Singapore and the Klang Valley.
A political analyst also suggested that a public spat over the halal certification between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan leaders could have turned off potential Pakatan supporters towards Barisan.
“Many would not have been able to get leave to come back as they would have already returned during the school holidays,” said political scientist Assoc Prof Dr Mazlan Ali.
“Many would also have thought that Barisan was sure to win and their vote might not make a big difference in the outcome,” said Mazlan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Perdana Centre.
The clash between DAP vice- chairman Teresa Kok and Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh over mandatory halal certs for certain restaurants could have also soured some DAP supporters towards Umno.
“This is a flashpoint that can divide the country along racial lines and it is important for Barisan and DAP to find a middle ground when faced with such issues,” he said.
Johor DAP political education director Alan Tee Boon Tsong admitted that the issue was a concern for the party in getting their supporters to back Barisan.
“I think two weeks of intense explanation from DAP leaders helped soften the Chinese voters with regard to the halal issue.
“Initially we were worried about it. But on polling day in places like Kg Tengah, we got a lot of Chinese voting for Barisan,” he said, adding that voter turnouts during by-elections are usually lower compared to a general or state election.
Sources have claimed that the turnout rate among Chinese voters could be as low as 32% while it was 34% for Indians.
Think tank Institut Darul Ehsan, which conducted voter surveys throughout the by-election’s campaign, estimates that the turnout among Chinese and Indian voters was 49% and 48% respectively.
But despite the low turnout from Chinese voters, Johor Umno information chief Datuk Md Jais Sarday said this was the first time that Barisan received so much support from the community in Mahkota.
“I have been a two-term assemblyman here before and the numbers are not more than 20%. This time with the help of MCA and Pakatan, we got good numbers from the non-Malays,” he said.
MCA Mahkota by-election coordinator Lee Ting Han said the party had mobilised its national leaders including its president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong to reach as many outstation Chinese voters as possible.
“Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, who has not been feeling well, also insisted in campaigning and he called on all MCA supporters and voters working outside of Mahkota to return to vote for the Barisan candidate,” said Lee, who is Johor investment, trade, consumer affairs and human resources committee chairman.
“MCA focused on securing the crucial Chinese votes and our call centre successfully contacted and mobilised nearly 40% of voters,” said Lee, who is also Johor MCA secretary.
As for Syed Hussien, who is also Kluang Umno youth chief, he is already putting the by-election behind him as he prepares to roll up his sleeves to serve his constituents. He bears no grudges to those who did not return to vote as he believes that they had other commitments to attend to.
“I do not look at it in a negative way or that they purposely chose not to vote. I believe that those who did not turn up for the polls had other important things to attend to,” he said.
