Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Umno Treasurer Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) won the election through seat coordination, party organisation and reading voter sentiment, not popularity alone.
“Seat coordination allowed both parties to consolidate support in many constituencies and improved their chances of winning,” he said in his Facebook posting after the results, congratulating both party leadership, saying the outcome reflected planning and execution on the ground.
He said the coordination helped avoid multi-cornered contests that could have split votes and that delivering block votes was an advantage in closely contested seats.
He said the political mood mattered more than several policy issues raised during the campaign. He said Tabung Haji, development and state-federal coordination did not decide the outcome, and that broader public sentiment shaped how people voted.
He credited the BN and PAS grassroots machinery for mobilising party workers and supporters during the campaign.
“The election shows that winning requires more than popularity. It requires strategy, organisation, execution and reading the political environment and voter sentiment,” he said.
Salleh said the election held lessons for all parties, with long-term success depending on organisation, cooperation and staying attuned to voters’ concerns.
