Anwar’s wife wins Permatang Pauh by-election

(Channel News Asia) – Malaysia’s opposition coalition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has secured their seat in the Permatang Pauh district, with Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail winning Thursday’s (May 7) by-election with a margin of 8,841 votes.

The seat had vacated after her husband, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, was sentenced to jail for sodomy charges he claims were politically motivated.

Dr Wan Azizah won a total of 30,316 votes, while Barisan Nasional won 21,475 votes. Parti Rakyat Malaysia won 101 votes and an independent candidate won 367.

A total of 24 polling centres for the Permatang Pauh by-election in the Malaysian state of Penang opened at 8am to enable 71,252 voters to cast their ballot. The Electoral Commission said 73 per cent of voters had turned up at the close of polls at 5pm.

BN candidate Suhaimi Sabudin and PKR candidate Dr Wan Azizah were among the early voters to turn out to cast their ballot.

At the polls Dr Wan Azizah said: “I’m sad (about Anwar). This by-election shouldn’t have happened, but life goes on and you have to fight. If you accept that any injustice is a test … I think God wants to see what you’re going to do, how you accept the challenge and meet it.”