BENTONG: It was a rollercoaster ride for Pakatan Harapan's Young Syefura Othman, who edged former MCA president Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai in a nail-biting race for the Bentong parliamentary seat yesterday
The Pakatan Harapan candidate said victory did not come easy and admitted that her winning margin was low but that has now made her even more determined to the extra mile to serve herconstituents.
"It was not an easy win and I admit my majority is low but this(low majority) will drive me to work hard and gain the trust of the people in Bentong.
"I am now the representative for the people of Bentong ....regardless of race, religion or political affiliation and will do my best to ensure my goals and vision for Bentong will be achieved. I am now your (Bentong constituents) representative in the Dewan Rakyat," she wrote on Facebook.
Young Syefura, who won the Ketari state seat in the previous general election, expressed her gratitude to the people in Bentong for giving her the mandate to shoulder the responsibilities as the member of parliament.
"The time has arrived for me to work for our beloved Bentong and I seek the cooperation from everyone so that we can develop Bentong together. InsyaAllah(God willing), I will carry out the mandate effectively, and do my best," she said.
Young Syefura, who is a DAP's central executive committee member, captured Bentong with a slim 692-majority. She secured 25,075 votes while Barisan Nasional's Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai, who served the constituency between 1999 to 2018, managed 24,383 votes.
Meanwhile, Liow wrote on Facebook that he accepted the result with an open heart and does not regret his move to contest for the second time.
"My goal has been clear and consistent throughout my political career, which is to fight for the development and progress of our beloved Bentong. My sincere thanks for the support you have shown me in these two weeks....sadly, I would not be able to see my development plans for Bentong to their fruition.
"I would like to congratulate Young Syefura on her victory and sincerely wish that she would focus on improving the lives of all Bentong constituents during her term," he said.