A mixed outcome for new faces from both sides in 13th General Election
KUALA LUMPUR: The new faces fielded by the Barisan Nasional ( BN) and Pakatan Rakyat ( PR) witnessed a mixed bag of fortunes in the 13th General Election.
The new faces were not only to replace the old guards but also to meet the aspirations of the voter populace significantly represented by the younger generation.
Among the earliest to shine is BN’s Rosman Isli who won the three- corner fight for the Labuan Parliamentary seat with a 6,625 majority.
The newbie’s challengers, namely Tan Sri Ibrahim Menudin ( PKR) managed to garner 6,069 votes while Hadnan Mohamad ( PAS) only managed to get 386 votes.
In Sarawak, Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party’s (SPDP) greenhorn Anthony Nogeh Gumbek wrested the Mas Gading Parliament seat for BN with a 2,156-vote majority in a four corner fight.
Surprisingly, the new face even managed to oust veteran parliamentarians, namely Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe (who stood as independent) and Patrick Anek Uren ( State Reform PartySTAR) and Mordi Bimol of the DAP.
In Kedah, Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican did BN proud when he won the Kepala Batas Parliament seat in his maiden attempt with a 4,176-vote majority over PAS’ Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden. Reezal Merican received 25,128 votes while Afnan Hamimi received 20,952.
MIC’s newcomer K Raven Kumar also helped enhance BN’s standing by defeating PKR’s M.S Murugan with a 13,014-vote majority to win the Tenggaroh state seat in Johor.
Another new comer, Normala Abdul Samad of BN edged Ahmad Faidhi Saidi of PKR with a slim majority of 935 votes in a tight race for the Pasir Gudang Parliament seat also in Johor.
In Selangor, debutant Mohd Rafizi Ramli of PKR won the Pandan parliamentary seat with a handsome majority of 26,729 votes. Mohd Rafizi recorded 48,183 votes against Lim Chin Yee’s (BN) 21,454 and Independent Tan Yew Leng 2,415.
Also PKR’s Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin turned into a giant slayer in his maiden attempt after he defeated Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ali Rustam with a 5,447-vote majority for the Bukit Katil Parliamentary seat.
However, not all the new faces were lucky. As for BN’s Chua Teik Siang it was a ‘David versus Goliath’ fight for the Bagan parliamentary seat as he was pitted with a real tough opponent, DAP’s stalwart and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The MCA’s new face managed a decent 12,307 votes against Guan Eng’s 46,466 votes. — Bernama