He said his victory showed that voters were dissatisfied over government polices on subsidies, and with rising costs and local water supply problems.

Abidin Ismail, representing PN, polled 14,489 votes to defeat Joohari Ariffin of Pakatan Harapan by a majority of 4,267 votes – more than double that obtained by his predecessor, Nor Zamri Latiff last year. The by-election was called after Zamri died in May.

Abidin criticised the Penang government’s failure to solve local issues despite being in power for several terms. He said the by-election was a referendum against the state government and the federal government.

He said the political climate today was different from that of the past.

“Today’s era is one of open skies, where politics of intimidation and project bribery no longer hold. The thinking of the leadership must match this era of openness and maturity,” he told reporters.