PORT DICKSON, April 27 – PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man attributed the party’s defeat in the Ayer Kuning by-election to low voter turnout, dismissing claims that their focus on pig farms during campaigning had backfired.
The Star cited him speaking at PAS’ national Aidilfitri open house in Lukut, where he urged the Election Commission to do more to ensure higher voter turnout in future by-elections.
“We saw a very low turnout on Saturday and unfortunately, this does not reflect a true picture on the ground or the support we enjoyed,” he reportedly said.
The Ayer Kuning state constituency has 31,897 registered voters. Only 58 per cent turned up.
He said Perikatan Nasional had anticipated a challenging battle as Ayer Kuning had traditionally been a Barisan stronghold, but noted the pact had secured over 6,000 votes and even won a polling centre located near pig farms.
Tuan Ibrahim stressed that the party’s emphasis on the pig farm issue was not racial or religious, citing environmental pollution concerns confirmed by lab tests.
He pointed out that even non-Malay residents had complained about the pig farms, refuting allegations that PAS had stoked racial sentiments during campaigning.
“Sometimes the pigs are transported early in the mornings when parents are taking their kids to school. This to us is not right,” he was quoted as saying.
Tuan Ibrahim highlighted that pig farms should legally be located at least 200 metres from residential areas, but one farm was found just 140 metres away, which he said was unacceptable.
Yesterday, Barisan Nasional retained the Ayer Kuning seat in the state by-election yesterday after its candidate, Mohamad Yusri Bakir, secured victory in the three-cornered fight with a 5,006-vote majority.
The Tapah Umno secretary, also known as Ustaz Yusri, garnered 11,065 votes to defeat Abd Muhaimin Malek of Perikatan Nasional (PN) who scored 6,059 votes and Bawani KS of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) who obtained only 1,106 votes.
In the 15th General Election in November 2022, Ishsam, who was also the Tapah Umno chief, won the seat with a majority of 2,213 votes in a five-cornered fight.