.png)
KUALA LUMPUR – For a party that was losing members and MPs, Perikatan Nasional (PN) has made stunning inroads into Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) strongholds in the 15th general election.
With a current tally of 72 federal seats according to Bernama’s count, PAS is neck and neck with Pakatan Harapan (PH), which currently has 75 seats. As of 2.45am, votes for 210 out of 220 parliamentary seats have been counted by the national news agency.
PN, with key components such as Bersatu and PAS, has swept all three parliamentary seats in Perlis, and with sizeable majorities. PN has likely been helped here by Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s decision to axe veteran incumbents as candidates.
In Arau, where ex-Umno warlord Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim contested on a PN ticket, his majority is 23,216. PN’s majorities in Padang Besar is 12,514 and in Kangar, 9,192.
At the state level, PN has also taken 14 state seats in Perlis, leaving just one – Indera Kayangan – to PH.
PN has also made inroads into the northern Selangor parliamentary seats that used to be Umno areas, such as Sabak Bernam (majority 5,056), Sg Besar, and Tg Karang. It has also taken the PKR seat of Hulu Selangor.
In Johor, PN chairman and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin defended the Pagoh parliamentary seat with a 10,007 majority. The coalition also took Mersing by a majority of 2,337 votes over BN, its closest rival.
In Pahang, PN has taken over the BN seats of Jerantut, Kuala Krau, Maran, and Rompin, as well as Kuantan, a PH seat since 2008.
Its Indera Mahkota incumbent, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, who party-hopped form PKR to Bersatu in the Sheraton Move, retained the seat by 8,399 votes.
PN’s narrative in the GE15 campaign has been to present itself as an alternative to BN and PH, and this may have worked with Malay voters upset with BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and who do not support PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
PN component PAS, which contested using its own logo in Kelantan and Terengganu where it is the state government, also won all 14 parliamentary seats in Kelantan and all eight federal seats in Terengganu. – The Vibes, November 20, 2022