BARISAN Nasional’s win in Cameron Highlands is not a surprise and it shows that the federal government did not play any dirty games to win the by-election, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said it proved that BN and Umno were strong in rural areas.

“We conduct free and fair elections, no hanky-panky, and the outcome was what the voters wanted,” he told after an event in Putrajaya today.

He said the 14^th general election results showed that Umno still had strong support, especially in the rural areas.

“In the last general election, Umno won many seats, but just not enough to form the government.

“Their win in Cameron Highlands is not surprising. This is a rural area seat…their stronghold is in rural areas.

“They also played up racial issues, but this is the decision of the voters and we accept that,” he said. 

In Saturday’s by-election, BN’s Ramli Mohd Nor defeated Pakatan Harapan’s M. Manogaran and two independents to retain the seat for the coalition.

BN direct candidate Ramli became the first Orang Asli to be elected to Parliament.

He won by a 3,238-vote majority over Manogaran.

The by-election was held after the election court in November annulled the GE14 results, ruling that the winning BN candidate, C Sivarraajh, was guilty of money politics and vote-buying.

The by-election also saw Dr Mahathir take to the husting for Manogaran on the last day of campaigning, while former prime minister Najib Razak travelled extensively over a period of six days into the Orang Asli villages and Felda settlements to gather support for Ramli.

Dr Mahathir admitted that the rising cost of living may have led to people voting against PH.

“They are poor people living in rural areas. We need to find ways to reduce costs and help them earn a living.”

He agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who said some Orang Asli still think he is a BN leader.

“There are some who think I am still with BN. It’s okay, they will find out eventually.” – January 28, 2019.