The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- GE13: BN wins with 133, wrests back Kedah
- GE13: Surprises and shocks
- GE13: Najib - We will undertake national reconciliation
| GE13: BN wins with 133, wrests back Kedah Posted: 05 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional won 133 parliamentary seats at the 13th general election to record a slightly reduced performance compared to 2008 but managed to wrest Kedah from Pakatan Rakyat. The Pakatan Rakyat coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP won 89 seats. The ruling coalition failed to regain Selangor and Penang while retaining Perak with a slim three-seat majority, due to what Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak described as a "Chinese tsunami". While Peninsular Malay and Bumiputra voters from Sabah and Sarawak mostly kept their faith in Barisan to deliver the ruling coalition a two-thirds victory, Chinese voters rewarded Pakatan Rakyat and particularly the DAP with 38 seats. "There was a tsunami among the Chinese community which supported the Opposition," Najib told a press conference at Barisan headquarters at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Najib also noted the racial polarisation in the trend of voting, and said this could lead to conflicts in society if it was not dealt with. "Therefore, we will undertake a process of national reconciliation so that we can set aside any extremism and communalism with policies based on moderation." The much anticipated increase in support by Indian voters appeared to have been muted with MIC winning four parliamentary seats, the same number which the party held going into the polls. While the sentiments of Malay voters were mixed, a swing towards Barisan managed to off-set the slide in the level of Chinese voter support towards the ruling coalition. Barisan's weaker performance compared to the 138 parliament seats it won in the last general election is likely to be the focus of the coalition's election post-mortem. The outcome is also expected to feature prominently at the internal party elections scheduled later this year for Barisan component parties such as Umno, MCA and Gerakan. Najib thanked voters for their support of the coalition to continue to lead the country. "I hope for the sake of the country that all sides especially the Opposition will accept this decision with an open heart and allow the democratic process to proceed smoothly. "The will of the people must be respected. There have been several improvements made to the election process," he said. The Barisan chairman reaffirmed that all pledges in the Barisan manifesto would be fulfilled, and a mechanism created to monitor their implementation. For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site Related Stories: |
| Posted: 05 May 2013 01:29 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: The 13th general election saw some big names fall and some "underdogs" taking the home run. Some managed to overcome closely-fought battles to retain their seats. Among the losers were Lembah Pantai Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Abdul Ghani Othman, Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, PAS' Datuk Husam Musa, Mohamad Sabu and Salahuddin Ayub, PKR's Datuk Saifuddin Nasution, MCA's Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and Datuk Donald Lim as well as Umno's Dr Puad Zarkashi. The two Perkasa candidates - Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Datuk Zulkifli Nordin - also failed in their attempt to return to Parliament after becoming independents following the 2008 elections. PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar defeated Nong Chik with a 1,847-vote majority for the Lembah Pantai seat, while Ghani lost his bid for the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat to DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang with a 14,762-vote majority. Lim, the former Ipoh Timur MP, contested in Johor for the first time as part of Pakatan's bid to wrest Johor from Barisan. Mohd Ali, who was contesting in the Bukit Katil parliamentary seat in Malacca, lost by 5,447 votes to PKR's Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin. Barisan secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor beat Husam to retain the Putrajaya parliamentary seat with a 5,541-vote majority. Barisan's Datuk Othman Abdul defeated PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu in Pendang with a 2,638-vote majority. Pulai incumbent Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed from Barisan beat PAS' Salahuddin by 3,226 votes. Barisan's Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir beat Saifuddin with a 1,871 majority to clinch the Kulim-Bandar Baharu seat. Kong, the MCA secretary-general and incumbent in the Lumut parliamentary seat, conceded defeat Sunday night to PKR's First Admiral (R) Mohd Imran Abdul Hamid, who won by a 8,168-vote majority, while Puad lost his traditional Batu Pahat seat to PKR's Mohd Idris Jusi by 1,732 votes. Lim, who was contesting in Selayang for the first time, lost by 17,846 votes to PKR's incumbent William Leong. Ibrahim, who is Perkasa president and Pasir Mas incumbent, lost to PAS' Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, the son of PAS spiritual leader and caretaker Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, with a majority of 8,047 votes. His vice-president Zulkifli who contested as a Barisan-friendly candidate in Shah Alam, was defeated by PAS' incumbent Khalid Samad by 10,939 votes. MIC's Datuk S.K. Devamany, who contested in the Sungai Siput for the first time, failed to topple its incumbent Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, who won by a majority of 2,793 votes. Devamany was the incumbent for Cameron Highlands. Several parliamentary candidates romped home with big wins, including DAP's Teresa Kok, who retained her Seputeh seat with a whopping 51,552-vote majority. For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site Related Stories: |
| GE13: Najib - We will undertake national reconciliation Posted: 05 May 2013 01:17 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who won his first mandate Sunday to lead the country, said the voter polarisation trend was worrying. "One of the programmes we will undertake is national reconciliation," he added. Despite the extent of the swing against Barisan, Najib said the coalition did not fall. "We have got a lot of resilience as a party. "Not many can claim the kind of support that Barisan has achieved," he said. Najib said it was a fair and free election and the results should be accepted. "There's a lot of things we have to as a party. "We need time to analyse the results so that the appropriate actions can be taken," he said. Najib also thanked the people for choosing Barisan as their government. "I also thank the Barisan machinery. The elections went smoothly and were more transparent," he told a press conference at PWTC early Monday. Najib said a few factors, including less support from the Chinese, prevented Barisan from a bigger win. "At least, we manage to wrest Kedah back. |
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