THE non-Malay vote will be the decisive factor in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, Umno stalwart Shahrir Abdul Samad said.

He said Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the seats last year because of the unwavering support of the non-Malays.

“PH, through its candidate from Amanah, achieved victory (in the two seats) because of the support of non-Malay voters, especially Chinese voters who were still caught up in the ‘Chinese tsunami’ seen in the (2018) general election.

“Is there anything that would still the Chinese tsunami?” he wrote on Facebook today.

In the 2022 general election, the late Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub won the Pulai parliamentary seat by 33,174 votes, defeating BN’s Nur Jazlan Mohamed and Perikatan Nasional’s Loh Kah Yong. Almost 71% of the 165,313 registered voters turned up to cast their ballots.

In Simpang Jeram, Salahuddin won a four-cornered fight by 2,399 votes, with only about 22,000 of the 40,000 registered electorate showing up to vote.

Three-way fights are on the cards for the two seats this time around as PH faces competition from Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Independent candidates.

Shahrir was optimistic that the Malay wave, witnessed in the general election and the recently concluded polls in six states, is unlikely to roil the Johor by-elections.

He said the leadership of Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi will prove to be an advantage for the PH-Barisan Nasional unity coalition.

“As a new leader is effective and unburdened by controversy, he will have a positive impact on both by-elections,” the former Johor Bahru lawmaker said.

He said the Malay and non-Malay communities in Johor do not have cause to protest against the government unless the desire is to “simply to follow the trend”.

PN gained massive support in Malay-dominant constituencies in the state polls and the general election.

The coalition won an 74 parliaments seats in its maiden general election and made major inroads in Selangor in the November state polls, denying PH-BN a two-thirds majority in the state.

The six state polls ended in a status quo with PH-BN retaining Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Penang and PN keeping Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah. – September 2, 2023.