Three things we learnt from The Kuala Kubu Baru by-election
Yesterday, Kuala Kubu Baru voters went to the ballots again for the second time in less than a year after the death of Pakatan Harapan’s Lee Kee Hiong in March.
(MMO) – Her successor representing the PH-Barisan Nasional unity coalition, Pang Sock Tao, was declared the winner with a majority of 3,869 votes — slightly lower than Lee’s 4,119.
The other two candidates from Parti Rakyat Malaysia and the independent did not even receive 200 votes each.
Analysts polled by Malay Mail had called the result prior to the election, and the predicted status quo was one of the reasons why this poll was not generally considered exciting.
1. Voter fatigue is real — so what’s next?
While it may seem like campaigning was fiery on social media platforms, the reality on the ground was very much different.
When approached by Malay Mail, several residents here were not keen to talk about politics, citing sensitivity as the reason for opting out of the conversations. The locals seemingly like the town as it is: Serene and peaceful.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) had attempted to drum up support by lining up several top leaders to speak at one of the night ceramahs, but instead it had to start 30 minutes later than scheduled due to the many empty seats. Crowds only started to form when former Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali took the stage, but even then it was hardly a large crowd.
The final voter turnout was 61.51 per cent. It was among the lowest for by-elections after the 15th general election.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research (NASR) senior fellow Azmi Hassan told Malay Mail that voters have started showing signs of election fatigue.
“Not only that, but they don’t see the urgency of going out to vote because nothing will change. It’s the politicians who have a point to prove,” he said.
