KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 – MIC president Datuk Seri G.Palanivel said support from Indian voters for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Teluk Intan by-election had increased to 70 per cent from 45 per cent in the last general election.He said in the 13th general election last year, only 45 per cent of the 11,468 Indian voters in Teluk Intan voted for BN.
With yesterday’s win for BN, Palanivel who is also Natural Resources and Environment Minister, said “nandri’ (thank you) to the Indian voters in Teluk Intan for giving their trust and a new hope to BN.
He said BN’s win in six polling districts with the majority being Indian voters was a very positive development because in the 12th (2008) and 13th general election (2013), most of the Indian votes, particularly from the Nova Scotia Plantation, went to the opposition.
“This time, increased support from the young generation in Nova Scotia Plantation for the BN candidate (Datuk Mah Siew Keong) is a good sign of BN’s revival in Teluk Intan,” he said in a statement Sunday.
Yesterday, Mah defeated DAP candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud by 238 votes after garnering 20,157 against his challenger’s 19,919 votes.
The 11,468 Indian voters make up 19 per cent of the 60,349 voters in the Teluk Intan parliamentary constituency.
In JELI, Kelantan, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi attributed BN’s victory in the by-election to its well-organised machinery.
“I congratulate Datuk Mah Siew Keong and the whole BN machinery for the win due to their well-organised campaign, which gave BN the edge this time,” he told reporters.
Ahmad Zahid said the small majority won was not an issue as what was sweeter was redeeming BN’s lost pride after losing by more than 7,000 votes to DAP in the last general election.
He was confident that Teluk Intan would see more development and urged that all promises made in the by-election be fulfilled as soon as possible.
– BERNAMA
