Slim by-election, a moral boost for BN
The Slim by election was the 12th by election after GE14. The Slim seat is one of three seats under Tanjung Malim parliament. The election was called following the demise of the state assemblyman from BN.
Mohd Zaidi Aziz who represent UMNO manage to secure a whopping 10,945 majority, defeating newly-formed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s (Pejuang) Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi who contested with an independent ticket, and independent candidate Santharasekaran Subramaniam.
The Slim by election was an indicator on the general public sentiment on BN. Despite being the incumbent seat of BN, the parliament of Tanjung Malim was historically MCA stronghold seat that has fall under PKR during the last GE. Following the Slim by-election on August 29, Barisan Nasional is dominating the news among the coalition in Malaysia, signifying its return in strength.
The by-election also served as a test on the internal cohesion of the expanding Muafakat Nasional coalition.
As seen by the leading influencer in Muafakat Nasional, Takiyuddin Hasan is the dominant PAS figure. The PAS secretary general has issued statement of support for UMNO in Slim by-election. The victory indicated that the vote pooling between UMNO and PAS through Muafakat Nasional appear to succeed.
While BN already has the upper hand to win the Slim seat due to its incumbent position, the resounding victory in all polling stations exceed its expectation. Even Chinese and Indian majority stations that were previously lost to Pakatan Harapan in GE14 have voted for BN.
The victory served as a moral boost for the coalition to face the upcoming Sabah state election as voiced by Zahid Hamidi as UMNO president.
Interestingly, based on Kaji Data Research Survey in July, majority of Chinese remain a staunch supporter of Pakatan Harapan despite highly dissatisfied (81%) with the coalition performance as opposition on federal level. Yet 62% of Chinese and 40% of Indian prefer the coalition for the upcoming election.
The Chinese preferential towards PH may be largely fuelled by political or racial insecurity and not due to the coalition performance.
However, as witnessed the Slim by-election, attracting the Chinese or Indian votes, particularly in rural area remain a viable possibility for BN.