Penanti: Strong Endorsement for PKR-Pakatan Rakyat
Latest from Penanti :
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim this evening paid tribute to the Pakatan Rakyat election machinery and the voters in Penanti for the victory of PKR candidate Dr. Mansor Othman. “In the past 14 months, the voters have faced an election three times (including his own parliamentary constituency of Permatang Pauh).
Despite this, they have not wavered from supporting Pakatan Rakyat’s agenda for change. The results show that ‘justice’ is still supported by the people,” he said. Anwar also commended the people of Penanti for “making the right choice” in endorsing Dr. Mansor as their representative and the future Deputy Chief Minister of Penang.
Congratulations to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR-Pakatan Rakyat and Dr. Mansor Othman for this splendid victory and Terima Kasih to the People of Penanti for Your Unwavering Endorsement
May 31, 2009
Mansor wins with 5,558 majority
by Malaysiakini Team in Penanti
7.20pm: OFFICIAL RESULTS Mansor wins the seat by garnering 6,052 votes. His nearest rival is Nai Khan with 494, followed by Aminah with 392. Kamarul obtained 56 votes. Mansor’s majority is 5,558 votes. All three independents lost their deposits. The win for Dr Mansor Othman– after a series of three previous electoral defeats – now opens the door for him to be appointed as the new Deputy Chief Minister of Penang A blog entry by DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, whose son Guan Eng is the chief minister, said that Mansor will be sworn in on Wednesday.
Only 7,100 people cast their votes in what is clearly a historic low turnout – standing at only 46.15 percent. There were a total of 15,384 registered voters in the constituency. Nai Khan had done very well in two polling areas – Teluk Wang which has many Thai residents and Sungai Lembu, a Gerakan stronghold. Nai Khan is the first Thai descendant to contest in an election in Malaysia. He is also a former Penang Gerakan Youth leader.
In Teluk Wang, Nai Khan obtained 154 votes as opposed to Mansor’s 180, Aminah, 21, and Kamarul, 1. In Sungai Lembu, Nai Khan garnered 102 votes, coming behind Mansor’s 258. Aminah and Kamarul gained two votes each.
Aminah did well in the Malay areas of Mengkuang, Kuala Mengkuang and Guar Perahu. She also won the battle for the postal votes by getting 12, followed by Kamarul, 7, Mansor, 2, and Nai Khan, 0.
7.13pm: Mansor leading with 6,266 votes against Aminah (390), Nai Khan Ari (534) and Kamarul (48).
7.05pm: Mansor has now raced to a 4,980-vote majority. He has garnered 5,309 votes while Aminah has 329, Nai Khan (301) and Kamarul (44).
6.50pm: The independents are now looking at losing their deposits paid to the Election Commission. While Mansor is surging away with 4,289 votes, Aminah, Nai Khan and Kamarul are rooted at 258, 273 and 26 votes respectively.
6.45pm: Mansor now has 3,431 votes. Nai Khan has overtaken Aminah by polling 243, with the latter garnering 223. Kamarul has 24 votes. Mansor’s majority is now 3,188 votes.
6.35pm: PKR’s Dr. Mansor Othman wins the Penanti state seat. He obtained 3,222 votes while Aminah Abdullah got 180, Nai Khan Ari (235), Kamarul Ramizu Idris (24). The total number of votes counted so far stands at 3,661 and with only 7,100 people voting, it is mathematically impossible for the rest to overtake him now.
6.30pm: With about 40 percent of votes counted so far – PKR’s Mansor Othman (2,964), Aminah Abdullah (178), Nai Khan Ari (133), Kamarul Ramizu Idris (22).
6.25pm: PKR’s Dr. Mansor Othman (2,517), Aminah Abdullah (153), Nai Khan Ari (71), Kamarul Ramizu Idris (20). Mansor’s majority right now is 2,364 votes, beating the 2,219 majority achieved by PKR in the 2008 general election.
6.20pm: PKR’s Dr. Mansor Othman (2,089), Aminah Abdullah (114), Nai Khan Ari (63), Kamarul Ramizu Idris (16).
6.15pm: PKR’sDr. Mansor Othman (1,863), Aminah Abdullah (100), Nai Khan Ari (62), Kamarul Ramizu Idris (14).
Counting took place in 10 polling districts – Guar Perahu, Kuala Mengkuang, Telok Wang, Mengkuang, Sungai Lembu, Penanti, Kubang Ulu, Sungai Semambu, Tanah Liat and Berapit Road.
I wonder what Najib will say once the results of the Penanti by-Election are confirmed by the Elections Commission. He will probably talk about the low voter turnout due to UMNO-Barisan Nasional’s boycott and can say that those who voted PKR-Pakatan are its hardcore supporters while 60% of eligible voters who did not vote are UMNO-BN diehards. He will also say that Malaysia is democratic and our election is free and fair that the Opposition too can win.
On democracy, he must not forget that he engineered a political coup and rejected the will of the people of Perak. He used the courts to endorse Zambry as the Menteri Besar in place of Nizar who was earlier appointed by the Sultan of Perak (after the 2008 Elections). By boycotting the Penanti by-election, he showed us that he is not interested in democracy. Why? Because he is promoting Mahathirism by the back door
The reality is something else. Penanti shows that Pakatan Raykat is a force to reckon with and Anwar Ibrahim is the leader they want to take our country out of the present economic, social and political mess. The economic slowdown is affecting Penang because it is dependent on export oriented manufacturing sector. People of Penanti are, therefore, hurting from the mismanagement of the economy by the UMNO-Barisan Nasional run central government. In addition, Penanti is the barometer of what can happen in Manik Urai when PAS-Pakatan takes on UMNO-BN. Civil society triumphs again.
What else can he say or do, short of resorting to emergency rule at the appropriate time to shore up his scandal tainted administration.—Din Merican
dinobeano - May 31, 2009 at 8:52 pm
This is definitely a great show of peoples power. This will carry on to the next general election. This means that the people want a change of government. Congratulations to the people of Penanti. You did an excellent job. Now, the people of Malaysia should keep the momentum going for the coming 13 GE. PR please plan a ahead. Change can only take place with peoples power. Therefore please register as a voter and to those who have registered please check your status.
k c low - May 31, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Dear Najib,
We cant wait for the 13GE.
Free Malaysia - May 31, 2009 at 9:23 pm
“People power” is not going to mean anything if suppressed. You need to harness it. Door to door canvassing and meeting the voters and organizing them on polling day may make the difference. You’re up against the more organized and more powerful BN machinery and their sponsors with their deep pockets.
Mr Bean - May 31, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Be-end today is a horse with no name – ie an illusion.
Congratulations, DSAI and PKR… you have breached the walls! Smite them without hesitation, but please-la ‘jaga belakang’!
Let the Perak thingy continue on the course – they can’t rule in this fashion – with all the democratically voted in penghulus breathing down their necks. No end of woes! They’ll be losing their microcirculation in no time!
Bean, from what i hear, the big sponsors are playing 2 sides of the field and hedging like mad. The SME/Is are leaning very heavily on the PR side for the first time, after the stimuli I & II seem to have vanished into thin air, or access denied. Just look at the situation in Johor, Malacca and Pahang – lots of crying.
Menyalak-er - May 31, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Dear Din,
A good result from Penanti but could you kindly look into Mafrel’s allegations of ‘tacit campaigning’ and PKR’s immediate rebuttal?
It is not helping much to those who would help PKR by fighting for a fair and just ‘playing field’ where the truth may emerge.
Sorry I had to ‘whack’ you boys if I want to be seen to be fair.
http://romerz.blogspot.com/2009/05/whacking-from-middle-ground.html
romerz - June 1, 2009 at 12:48 am
“Bean, from what i hear, the big sponsors are playing 2 sides of the field and hedging like mad.”
Malays are adept at this game. Don’t you thnk so??
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 6:48 am
Only 7,000 voters though? I’m worried reformist-Malaysians are becoming complacent just because BN decided not to contest.
Ogopogo - June 1, 2009 at 8:16 am
Taniah to YB DSAI and PR for another great performance. Yes, this is the type of performance that the majority of Malaysians today look for, not the 1Malaysia tipu kind.
Now that LGE has a new DCM, it is the aspirations of the rakyat that stronger performances shall follow in needed areas of civil service, trade, etc.
Yes, the sooner BN leaves the main stage, the faster the revival of the country.
Taikohtai - June 1, 2009 at 8:39 am
“Only 7,100 people cast their votes in what is clearly a historic low turnout – standing at only 46.15 percent. There were a total of 15,384 registered votes.”
Even if all voters who turned up cast their votes for Mansor, it would still be below 50% of the electorate. . If the remaining 54% plus were to cast their votes for UMNO-BN then PKR-PR would have lost – and in Anwar Ibrahim’s own backyard too.
You don’t call this ‘performance’
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 11:22 am
“Malays are adept at this game. Don’t you think so?” Bean.
Yes, but you haven’t sat down with a chinapek @ kopitiam for a long time Bean, they ‘hedge’ very well too. In this case they demand ‘filial’ loyalty – whole families vote en-bloc following the patriach/matriach. No argument! In the case of Malays esp. of the younger generation, the opposite happens. Being better educated they tend to influence the older folk in kampungs.
I know that several Malay families who are not on talking terms after 0308 because of the political divide, but somehow the diehard fans of the establishment are yielding gradually to the young ‘uns when they saw what was happening to Dopey. Their word: “Kasar!”
Menyalak-er - June 1, 2009 at 11:52 am
What happened to the DJ side of our blogger lately?? This is still Sunday.
There ‘s nothing like a Kenny G moment – accompanied by the sultry voice of Chente Moore
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 11:56 am
Too simple, Bean. Not all of the remaining 54% are solidly with UMNO-BN. The trouncing could have been more severe for the government in power. But let us not engage in arithmatic. The fact is that not only did PKR and Dr. Mansor win, but also the margin of victory (5,558 votes) was impressive.
Let us congratulate Dr.Mansor as the new Deputy Chief Minister 1 for Penang and give him the chance to prove his worth.
drkam - June 1, 2009 at 12:25 pm
BAru aku sedar yg Ketua MEnteri Pulau Pinang orang MELAKA dan sekrang Timbalan KEtua MEnteri 1 pulak adalah orang KEDAH..
Well done!!
Iskandar Johan - June 1, 2009 at 2:02 pm
“But let us not engage in arithmetic.” Cik Cun
It is all about arithmetic. It is the arithmetic of race. When Malaya became independent in 1957, she was a country of minorities. Malays was not the majority race – just hovering around 48-49% but it was the largest minority. Today it is about 60%. The racial demographics has dictated much of the course of politics in this country.
The formula our first Prime Minister used in winning the first elections was so successful that he continued using it. Our second Prime Minister fine-tuned the formula to perfection and as Malays came to make up 60%, UMNO dominated the coalition more and more. The people were lulled into complacency and it took Asia’s first financial crisis in 1997 to wake Malaysians up to the fact, among other things, that benevolent authoritarianism under Mahathir is an aberration which may not last as corruption and cronyism sets in. Economic development took a heavy toll in terms of human rights as dissent was quietly suppressed and political opposition stifled.
This process is on-going and under Najib, who chartered his political career in the shadows of leaders who were quietly intolerant of political opposition, we are not about to see a break from history. In fact under Najib we are already seeing a noisier and more blatant use and abuse of power to stifle dissent.
Under Anwar Ibrahim we will see some break though I feel it would not be a total break from the past. Neither will we see the end of corruption.
The generation that comes after us will have a better chance at a real break from the racial politics of the past – ceteris paribus as my economics professor was fond of saying.
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 7:42 pm
The reason why I’m pessimistic of any real change, in terms of Malaysians working together as Malaysians for a better Malaysia, is that the formula used is essentially a variation of the same old formula. Any change is likely to be cosmetic. There may be success in other fields but not in terms of the growth of a new racial consciousness i.e. the realization that the sooner we put the matter of race behind us the sooner will we be able to take our rightful place in the community of nations.
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 8:02 pm
ooops ‘national’ instead of ‘racial’ consciousness
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 8:03 pm
New Yorker Bean,
I am talking about the arithmetic of numbers in the case of Penanti. You are referring in your comments to the dynamics of race in Malaysian politics. I do not disagree with your analysis on that score.
You see the same word can be used differently. Imperfection of the English language is evident here.
drkam - June 1, 2009 at 8:55 pm
The beauty of ‘cut and paste’ is that you’re able to take a statement out of its context and take the discussion on a different path.
You’re right. But it was deliberate. Thanks.
Mr Bean - June 1, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Anyway here’s to you Dr Kamsiah. The best rendition I could find of Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are” …
Mr Bean - June 2, 2009 at 6:37 am
There is a message there for Din Merican
Mr Bean - June 2, 2009 at 6:42 am