LETTER | Sungai Pelek good example of Harapan-BN cooperation

LETTER | Sungai Pelek in Selangor is a good example of the benefits of Pakatan Harapan-BN cooperation during the recent state elections.

The seat was also the most difficult for DAP to retain.

This was an almost 60 percent Malay majority seat where DAP was fielding a local Chinese candidate against a relatively well-known Perikatan Nasional candidate who was a former local Umno leader.

This was a seat in which Harapan won 48 percent of the popular vote according to the results for the Sepang Parliament seat for the 15th general election.

Using the same data from GE15, BN and PN won 31 percent and 18 percent of the popular vote respectively.

The key question here was the percentage of BN-Umno supporters who would transfer their votes to Harapan in this state seat.

Harapan managed to win this seat with an almost 1,500 majority and with 51.8 percent of the popular vote (See Table 1 below).

Even though the Harapan majority was decreased from slightly more than 6,000 votes using GE15 data (in a three-cornered fight), the fact that the DAP was able to retain this Malay majority seat in the context of a rising PN and a weakening BN should not be easily dismissed.

It cannot be denied that there was a big swing in Malay support in Sungai Pelek from GE15 to the state polls. According to my estimates, the Malay support for PN increased from 51 percent in GE15 to 75 percent in state polls, an increase of 24 percent. Approximately 20 percent out of the 25 percent of Malay support given to BN-Umno in GE15 swung to PN in the state polls.

Of the Malay votes which went to some of the smaller parties and independent candidates in GE15 about two percent also went to PN in the state polls.

But about five percent of the 25 percent Malay support for BN-Umno in GE15 was transferred to the Harapan candidate in the state polls. In addition, about five percent of the Chinese and 10 percent of the Indian support which went to the Chinese BN candidate in GE15 were also transferred to the Harapan candidate in the state election.

All in all, a vote transfer of approximately 25 percent of total BN votes from GE15 went to Harapan in the state polls, with the remaining 75 percent going to PN. (See Table 2 below).

Given that PN won a negligible amount of the non-Malay vote in this 40 percent non-Malay constituency in GE15 and in the state polls, and given the 25 percent vote transfer from BN to Harapan (including five percent out of 25 percent or 20 percent BN’s Malay support in GE15), this was sufficient for Harapan to win this seat with almost 52 percent of the popular vote.

Harapan would not have been able to win Sungai Pelek without the support from Umno, especially in the Malay majority areas of Jenderam Hulu, Salak, and Hulu Cucuh.

While some Umno members hesitated to work with and campaign for Harapan in the first week of the campaign, a certain comfort level was reached by the second week.

The cooperation between Harapan and BN at the leadership and grassroots level was also enhanced by the presence of state and national leaders campaigning together in Sungai Pelek.

I experienced this when International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz came to Sungai Pelek to campaign with the Harapan candidate Lwi Kian Seong, together with Ng Sze Han, the DAP Selangor state secretary and was recently sworn in as a Selangor executive council member.

Zafrul mobilised the local Umno leadership and grassroots to throw their support behind Lwi.

Harapan’s assistance on the campaign trail and the vote transfers from Harapan supporters to BN would also have helped BN win in other seats notably in Dusun Tua, a seat which was originally won by the DAP in GE14 and was given to Umno to contest in the state polls.

The Umno candidate, Johan Abdul Aziz won this seat with a 3,000-vote majority. DAP leaders, including Gobind Singh, Ng Sze Han, Lim Yi Wei (Kampung Tunku assemblyperson) and Wong Kah Woh (Taiping MP) campaigned for Johan in Dusun Tua.

ONG KIAN MING is a former Bangi MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.