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BN retains Cameron Highlands with 3,238-vote majority

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BN candidate Ramli (centre) after being announced the winner of the Cameron Highlands by-election. Also with him are Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (fourth right) and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (fourth left). Photo: Bernama
BN candidate Ramli (centre) after being announced the winner of the Cameron Highlands by-election. Also with him are Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (fourth right) and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (fourth left). Photo: Bernama

TANAH RATA: Barisan Nasional (BN) retained the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat after its candidate Ramli Mohd Nor, 61, won in yesterday’s by-election.

With his victory, Ramli also became the first Orang Asli to be elected as a Member of Parliament.

Ramli, a direct candidate of BN (not from any of its component parties), was announced as the winner by the Returning Officer Datuk Ishak Md Napis at 8.35pm.

The former senior police officer won by a majority of 3,238 votes after securing 12,038 votes.

He defeated three other candidates namely M Manogaran of Pakatan Harapan who garnered 8,800 votes, and two independents, former Institut Aminuddin Baki lecturer Sallehudin Ab Talib (314 votes) and farmer Wong Seng Yee (276 votes).

The Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election was called after the Election Court declared the victory of Datuk C Sivarraajh from BN in the 14th General Election (GE14), null and void for vote-buying.

The seat has been in BN hands since the 1974 general election.

The voter turnout for the by-election was 68.79 per cent when polling closed at 5.30pm with a total of 568 rejected votes.

The percentage exceeded the last four by-elections for the state seats of Sungai Kandis (49.8 per cent), Seri Setia (44 per cent), Balakong (43 per cent) in Selangor and also Port Dickson parliamentary seat by-election which was at 58.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the victory was a “people’s victory”.

“Thank you to all the voters who chose BN, including in Felda, villages, and Orang Asli villages. This is a people’s victory,” Malaysiakini quoted Najib.

Najib had campaigned for four days in Cameron Highlands, and was often greeted at events by an enthusiastic crowd.

Think tank Ilham Centre had predicted on Friday that his presence would be among the deciding factors for a BN win.

The news portal also reported former Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein as saying that he believed Ramli would make being a “voice for the people” his cause in Parliament.

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