Pakatan Harapan’s loss was due to national issues such as Malaysia’s subsidy reforms and rising costs of living, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told reporters late Saturday. Sungai Bakap voters were unhappy with some decisions made by the government, he added.
Malaysia’s ruling coalition failed to wrest a seat in a by-election in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s home state on Saturday, with party leaders blaming higher fuel prices for the deeper loss.
Federal opposition pact Perikatan Nasional more than doubled its winning margin in the Sungai Bakap state seat of Penang, according to the Election Commission. It won with a majority of 4,267 votes in the straight fight against Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan, compared with a 1,563-vote margin in last year’s state elections.
