The Tapah MP said low voter turnout, not the strength of the opposition, was a bigger concern, especially since many outstation voters had only recently returned home here for Hari Raya Aidilfitri at the end of March.

Saravanan said this could make it harder to increase the 2,313-vote majority from the last general election, even with support from Pakatan Harapan voters.

“Our constraint is that out-of-state voters, especially staunch BN supporters who just returned to their hometowns for Hari Raya, have already gone back to work.

“So, it’s uncertain whether they will make the trip just weeks later, considering the cost (of returning).

“That’s why I’m confident BN will win, but the size of the majority remains uncertain,” he told FMT.

While BN has not officially set a target for its candidate, Yusri Bakir, Perak menteri besar Saarani Mohamad has expressed hope the coalition can secure 18,000 votes.

Saarani, who is also the Perak Umno chief, is confident the target can be achieved based on the combined strength of BN and PH in the last general election, which saw them winning 9,088 and 6,875 votes, respectively, amounting to a base of about 15,000.

The Ayer Kuning seat fell vacant following the death of Ishsam Shahruddin on Feb 22.

The Election Commission has set April 26 as polling day, while early voting will be on April 22.

Yusri will face Perikatan Nasional’s Muhaimin Malek and PSM’s KS Bawani in the by-election.

Commenting on grassroots support for the BN-PH partnership, the former human resources minister said acceptance has not reached a satisfactory level, even though both coalitions no longer consider each other as rivals.

“At the top leadership level, there are no problems. But at the grassroots, they still cannot cooperate to a satisfactory level as a team,” he said.