PUTRAJAYA: The decisive victory of Pas with a large majority in the recent Kemaman by-election last Saturday is not indicative of the people's rejection of the unity government.
PKR secretary-general, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that it did not send any signal to the unity government because Pas had previously won the seat in the last general election.
"In the past, who won in the Kemaman area... PAS, right? And now, who won recently... PAS. So, there is no added value.
"So, there is no signal because there is no addition to the opposition's seats. Therefore, it does not give any indication," he said at a media briefing during the celebration of the first anniversary of the Home Ministry and the monthly gathering of the ministry's staff.
Saifuddin, who is also the Home Minister, said that the signal of the people's rejection of the unity government could be measured if the seat, previously won by BN in the last general election, is now won by Pas in the by-election.
"Unless the seat was previously won by BN, and then Pas wins in the by-election under PN. It's just a change of representatives, and now (last Saturday) the residents there have once again chosen PN. So, there is no issue. I congratulate them on the victory," he said.
Yesterday, it was reported that Pas' landslide victory in the Kemaman by-election might be perceived as a signal from Terengganu voters rejecting opposition representatives in the state, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said.
The Terengganu Menteri Besar, however, refrained from delving deeper into the matter.
Pas retained control of the Kemaman seat when its candidate, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, won with a majority of 37,220 votes.
Ahmad Samsuri, who is also the Terengganu Chief Minister, garnered 64,998 votes, while his opponent from the BN candidate, General (B) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, received 27,778 votes.
The majority obtained by the PAS candidate this time exceeded 10,041 votes compared to the previous holder, Che Alias Hamid, who secured a majority of 27,179 votes.