Asyraf said BN’s victory proved that outstation voters no longer backed PAS.

He said there was a notable increase in the number of outstation voters who came back to cast their ballots compared to those who turned up for the state election in August last year.

“I would like to thank the outstation voters who have been long-time supporters of PAS,” he said at a press conference here.

Asyraf said BN’s success was a moral victory for the federal government coalition, especially since BN lost the seat last year.

“We were mocked and vilified (by PN) at the ceramahs as if Umno had no dignity but we won big in the end,” he said.

BN reclaimed the Nenggiri state seat when its candidate, Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, won by a majority of 3,352 votes in a straight fight against Perikatan Nasional’s Rizwadi Ismail.

Kelantan Umno chief Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub said the decision to unveil its candidate early was one reason it won the by-election.

The PAS-led state government’s failure to resolve problems as well as their penchant for blaming Putrajaya for it was another factor, he said.

Jazlan also said he did not expect BN to win with such a majority. “It was extraordinary, but this win is also a test to see how capable Umno-BN is at resolving the people’s woes,” he said.