Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil said the people were not foolish, and that playing down a victory in such a manner reflected a state of denial.

“Who are we trying to deceive? If we don’t admit defeat and cannot correct ourselves,” he said in a Facebook video.

Isham was responding to communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil, who argued that PAS’s victory in Kemaman was expected since the constituency is a Perikatan Nasional (PN) stronghold, despite PAS only winning the parliamentary seat for the first time in 2018.

“What about Pelangai then? The unity government won in Pelangai. (So) that’s a referendum on who?” he asked.

The Oct 7 Pelangai by-election in Pahang was won by Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Amizar Abu Adam, who received 7,324 votes over PN’s Kasim Samat from PAS, who received 4,375 votes.

In the Kemaman by-election on Saturday, PAS’s Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar secured a total of 64,998 votes while BN candidate Raja Affandi Raja Noor, a retired general and former defence forces chief, garnered 27,778 votes.

This meant an overwhelming majority of 37,220 votes for the Terengganu menteri besar.

On the charts released to counter the opposition’s triumph over its victory in Kemaman, Isham said they illustrated Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) victories by tens of thousands of votes in certain areas, noting that these were urban areas where DAP supporters and non-Malays constitute the majority.

“People from (the Malay-majority) areas will think… If PH can win by tens of thousands in non-Malay areas, what if we give PN tens of thousands of votes (to emulate the same thing)?” he said, adding that this would harm Umno.

He also said that tactics involving excessive praise or support for DAP should be stopped.

“Don’t praise DAP until the Malays grow more resentful of us (Umno). Haven’t we learned our lesson? We’ve already gone through a few by-elections,” he said.

“Let DAP fight for its own cause. Don’t suddenly, when DAP’s interests are threatened, become even more ‘koyak’ than them.”