“Praise to God, a million thanks for giving us the chance, trust and for the confidence in BN. May God shower us with his blessings,” the former prime minister, who had actively campaigned in the last two weeks, told FMT in his first reaction to BN’s victory.
In a Facebook post later, Najib said today’s results sent a “clear message” to Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“People are fed up and don’t see anything good from all the lies and slander.
“People want Ramli Mohd Nor to be their voice, the first Orang Asli in Dewan Rakyat,” he said.
Other BN leaders were equally jubilant. While many commended BN for choosing an Orang Asli candidate, others thanked PAS for its help during campaigning.
PAS election workers were at the forefront during campaigning, which saw big guns such as Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim travelling to the highlands to campaign for Manogaran.
Umno Youth leader Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki described today’s victory as a morale booster after its historic defeat in the general election last year.
He said apart from the choice of Ramli, the cooperation from PAS ensured supporters of the Islamist party voting for BN.
“This is the first time that PAS and Umno, from grassroots members to senior leaders, worked together,” he said.
Asyraf said voters in at least three voting channels, considered as “hardcore PAS areas”, had this time backed BN.
“In these three areas, PAS convinced its supporters to vote for BN. I thank PAS for their contribution towards a BN victory,” he said.
Ramli, polled 12,038 votes, defeating PH’s M Manogaran, who got 8,800, a majority of 3,238 votes. It is also the biggest winning margin for BN in Cameron Highlands in more than a decade.
Two independent candidates, Sallehudin Ab Talib and Wong Seng Yee, obtained 314 and 276 votes respectively.
Meanwhile, C Sivarraajh, whose disqualification as the Cameron Highlands MP triggered the by-election today, said BN’s victory was proof that the Orang Asli community, who make up about 22% of the electorate, had always supported BN.
“The voting pattern today is the same as in GE13 and GE14. This shows there was never any need for us to buy votes from the Orang Asli,” Sivarraajh said, referring to claims of vote-buying by BN, which the Election Court cited as the reason to nullify his victory.
PH leaders had played down their chances in Cameron Highlands, with many saying Ramli’s candidacy had almost guaranteed the support of the Orang Asli for BN.
PPBM strategist Rais Hussin warned PH not to take its defeat lightly.
“This is an early warning signal for PH to take stock and reinvent itself,” he told FMT.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua said BN “played their cards well to field a local face”, adding that PAS’ cooperation further boosted its chances.
“It’s simple maths, BN placed a local Orang Asli, PAS was with BN, and the Pahang state government is under BN,” he told FMT.