KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) says that although Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, the votes they obtained had decreased significantly.
PN's Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election director, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said that PN on the other hand remained relatively unaffected by the decline in votes, although it failed to capture the seat.
"Previously, we garnered 10,743 votes, whereas today we secured 10,131 votes, indicating a decrease of only 612 votes.
"The Kuala Kubu Bharu by-election presented (us with) challenges not only from PH but also from two governments (state and federal) that face numerous allegations of exploiting their positions for project promises and more.
"Nevertheless, with tonight's results, our position stands firm and largely unaffected by the modest decrease of 628 votes.
"Moreover, the decline in voter turnout from 69 per cent to 61 per cent also influenced the outcome," he told reporters when met at the party main operation room.
Azmin also said there is a surprising trend of elderly voters shifting their support to PN, which is contrary to the common assumption that this group would typically favor the government.
"When we examine the localities based on stream one to three, we observe a significant increase in elderly voters backing PN.
"Thus, in this by-election, we successfully reaffirmed the elderly of PN's policies and programs.
"While there's a slight decrease in streams 4-6 (young voters), it didn't sway towards PH, as they experienced a larger decline compared to PN."
Commenting on the decrease in Orang Asli voters, Azmin said it did not significantly impact the coalition's performance.
"Although we emerged victorious in the Pertak polling district in the previous general election, in this by-election, the opposing side (PH) campaigned there.
"However, I consider this impact minimal, as it only involved 400 voters. Overall, this didn't significantly affect PN's performance, given that the number of voters in the Pertak polling district was only 413."