DAP to look into low turnout among non-Malay voters

Party secretary-general Loke Siew Fook says DAP leaders will clarify the unity government’s direction and seek ways to retain the support of grassroots members.

(FMT) – The low turnout rate among non-Malay voters in the Mahkota by-election will be given serious attention by DAP, says the party’s secretary-general Loke Siew Fook.

In a statement after Barisan Nasional’s victory was announced, Loke urged all parties in the unity government coalition to close ranks and strive to maintain a harmonious relationship.

“Although the BN candidate received strong support from every community, DAP will take the low turnout rate among non-Malay communities seriously,” he said in a statement tonight.

BN candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah was elected the new assemblyman for Mahkota by a majority four times larger than BN obtained in 2022. He obtained 27,995 votes while Perikatan Nasional’s Haizan Jaafar obtained 7,347 votes.

A party source revealed that the voter turnout rate remained low among Chinese (32%) and Indian voters (34%), while the highest turnout rate (63%) was among Malay voters.

Loke pledged that DAP leaders will continue clarifying the direction of the unity government to grassroots members and seek ways to retain their support.

Johor DAP vice-chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said BN’s victory demonstrated voters’ preference for the “moderate narratives” of the unity government.

“It shows that moderate campaign narratives can be accepted by voters. We had difficulty convincing voters not to be influenced by any extreme religious and racial narrative during our campaign,” Sheikh Umar said in a statement.

He said the Mahkota campaign should be emulated as a formula for moderate politics in future elections.

Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi, also from DAP, said BN’s landslide majority demonstrated voters’ faith in the unity government coalition.

“This is not a victory of a single party but the victory of all Malaysians who trust the unity government,” Wong said in a statement.