PKR President Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail scored a big victory in Kajang by election despite winning a reduced majority of 5,379 votes. She has “crushed” BN candidate Chew Mei Fun and dented UMNO’s confidence.
The voter turnout in the 13 th general elections was 72.1% where the PKR candidate Lee Chin Cheh won with a majority of 6,824 votes. On Sunday, the voter turnout saw a reduction 16.3%.
Had the more than 3000 to young outstation voters returned to vote, MCA’s defeat would have been more severe.
While MCA cannot still see the light at the end of the tunnel, Umno leaders must have sleepless nights over the further loss of Malay support for BN.
During the campaign period, MCA leaders had said that a better Kajang result would enable the party to fight for more Cabinet posts with dignity.
In fact, Chew Mei Fun herself had said that MCA needed to garner some 30% of the Chinese votes in the Kajang by-election to prove that the community needs the party to represent it in the Cabinet.
She felt that without that level of support it would be difficult for MCA to fight for their needs.
After the Sunday result, not a single MCA leader dares to talk its failure to achieve the 30% target.
In 2011, MCA had decided that it would not take up government posts if its electoral performance in the 13 th general elections was worse than the 12 th general elections.
MCA did not keep its word when the party recently held an extraordinary general meeting to decide to rejoin Cabinet.
Now with its crushing defeat in Kajang by election, MCA should seriously rethink the decision to rejoin the Cabinet.