KUCHING: The Semenyih by-election set for March 2 may go Barisan National’s way if BN’s victory in the Cameron Highland by-election can be taken as a yardstick.
Kapit assemblyman Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi said that if the Semenyih seat was won by BN, then it showed that the people there were not very satisfied with Pakatan Harapan (PH)’s performance since it won the general election last year.
“This is simply because PH has promised far too much during the 14th General Election (GE14),” he told reporters yesterday.
He was asked to comment on the Semenyih by-election during the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Chinese New Year open house at its headquarters here.
Alexander said when one promised too much, it became very difficult to fulfil the pledges, and this caused people to feel disappointed.
“The expectation of the rakyat before GE14 was very high, when they (PH) cannot deliver, naturally the people feel that have short-changed,” he said.
He said by-elections were an opportunity for the people to express their feelings about the government of the day, especially the PH government.
To a question, if the Semenyih by-election would have a bearing on Sarawak, he said: “In Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), with our slogan ‘Sarawak First’, we focus on the interests of Sarawakians.”
Alexander, who is also GPS secretary-general, said that in the next state election, PH would fight it out with GPS, and naturally, it was his hope that PH would lose in the by-election.
“I cannot deny the fact that I wish that PH will lose the Semenyih seat because that will enhance GPS’ confidence and acceptance by the people,” he said.
He said GPS would take the opportunity to convince the people here that PH was not what the people expected it to be.
“Many of their manifesto pledges during the election have yet to be fulfilled,” he said.
The by-election is forced by the death of Semenyih incumbent assemblyman Baktiar Mohd Nor on Jan 11 from a heart attack.
The Election Commission (EC) set March 2 as the date for the by-election.
In GE14, Bakhtiar defeated candidates from BN, PAS and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in a four-cornered fight, with a majority of 8,964 votes. He garnered 23,428 votes.
