PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hopes that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar's victory in the Kemaman parliamentary by-election in Terengganu will cool down the political temperature in the country.
Anwar, who is prime minister and Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, said this was because Samsuri, who is Terengganu Menteri Besar, portrayed an image of a moderate leader.
Anwar said Samsuri, who is also Pas vice-president, has a personality and attitude unlike others within the party.
"His win (during the Kemaman by-election) has provided, at least, some relief.
"This is because he (Samsuri) carries an image of a moderate leader unlike his colleagues in Pas who are way more extremist," he told reporters after launching the 2023 National Technical Profession Day here today.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, was asked to comment on the outcome of the Kemaman by-election which saw Pas, through Samsuri, retain the parliamentary seat after securing a majority vote of more than 37,000.
Anwar however did not agree with Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan's assessment that Umno is still way behind and needs to do more to restore confidence among the Malays in the country.
"Not really. If we look at the outcome of the by-election, there was also a reduction the votes polled by Pas (during the by-election compared to the ones obtained by the party in the 15th general election).
"However, we do see that Umno has yet to secure the intended target," he said.
Anwar added that top leaders in PH and Umno convened a meeting yesterday to deliberate and discuss the result of the Kemaman by-election.
"I am satisfied since they (Umno) had deployed their machinery to the ground (to restore support from the people)," he said.