Semenyih by-election will not be easy for PH – institute

SHAH ALAM: The support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Semenyih state constituency remains high, at 46 per cent, according to a research institute.

Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) deputy chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said the finding was based on a survey conducted on 1,142 respondents from Jan 31 to Feb 1.

He said, however, PH had to work doubly hard to retain the seat, which it won in the 14th general election in May last year, and that support for the Barisan Nasional was at 37 per cent, just nine percentage points behind.

“The support rate is based on the current situation and from what we have observed. If PH, and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in particular, wish to retain the seat, they must get at least 51 per cent of the votes.

“Based on the IDE survey, the winner of the Semenyih by-election will be the candidate who manages to capture most of the votes of fence sitters, who make up 17 per cent of the voters.

He said the survey also found that based on the polling trend, 50 per cent of the voters had already decided who they would be voting for, but that another 28 per cent would only make their choice on polling day.

Therefore, Mohammad Redzuan said the possible outcome of the election could only be determined within the last 48 hours of the polls.

In the meantime, he said although support for the PH government was still high, there were two issues, namely cost of living and rising prices which could affect the outcome.

“As many as 51 per cent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living while 57 per cent were unhappy with cost of goods rising. However, the IDE study shows that people still trust the PH government.

“The community’s response is still positive towards the Selangor government’s administration and the ‘Peduli Rakyat’ (Care for the People) initiative introduced to help the people of the state since 2008,” he said.

He said the findings also showed that support of the Malays for PH and BN in Semenyih was even, while the Chinese and Indian support for PH was 70 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.

Asked whether the support of the Malay community was lower because they were still uncertain about Bersatu, Mohammad Redzuan said as Bersatu was a relatively new party, the other PH component parties had to work collectively to ensure victory.

“Unlike the previous five byelections held (since the 14th General Election), Bersatu should not merely campaign on their own, but instead work closely with all PH component parties,” he said.

The Election Commission (EC) has set March 2 as the polling date for the Semenyih by-election, while Feb 16 (Saturday) will be the nomination day and early voting on Feb 26.