Live Reports

Veteran rocker entertains Umno crowd

11pm: Umno Sungai Besar building - Eighties rock star Nash entertains the crowd with his hit song "Ku Di Halaman Rindu".

The one time front man of rock band Lefthanded rallies the crowd to imitate Budiman's trademark "Salam Dua Jari" (the peace sign).

The crowd sings along as they wait for the arrival of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Amanah’s take on Chinese swing

10.30am: Amanah office, Sg Besar - Amanah communications director Khalid Samad says part of the reason for the swing in Chinese votes to BN was due too goodies and intimidation.

Khalid claims Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when meeting Chinese voters in Bagan, hinted their fishing licenses may not be renewed if BN doesn't win.

Meanwhile, Khalid says Zahid also promised to help them secure permits to hire foreign workers on their boats.

"So they may have thought that it's better to make use of this election to get benefits," he tells a press conference.

Budiman says he entered race as underdog

10.20pm: Dewan Seri Bernam, Sungai Besar - Newly elected Sungai Besar MP Budiman Mohd Zohdi says he was comfortable entering the three-cornered fight as an underdog and promises to continue with his winning formula.

"In continuing my work for the people, this is already my routine in Sungai Panjang. But now I will extend it to Sekinchan," he says.

"How I serve the Chinese voters in Sungai Panjang, I will do the same in Sekinchan," he adds.

Budiman says that he entered the race optimistic of a victory but did not expect to achieve such a large majority.

Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar also describes the victory as being beyond expectations and will continue to adopt the same strategy for the next general election.

Gerakan boss: Chinese votes have returned to BN

10.14pm: Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong says BN won the Sekinchan polling district in Sungai Besar by 115 votes, an area under the care of Gerakan.

"In the 2013 general election, BN lost this PDM (polling district) by 414 votes.

"This is a big win for BN and we won close to 50% of the Chinese votes in this PDM," he adds.

Amanah trounced in Malay heartlands, PAS decimated in Chinese areas

9.50pm: Amanah lost badly in the Malay heartlands in Sungai Besar with some ballot boxes seeing only a handful of votes for the PAS splinter party.

For example, in one of four streams in Sungai Leman Kampung Darat, a Malay area, Amanah garnered only 25 votes compared to PAS' 105 votes and BN's 275 votes.

Another example is the Malay heartland of Parit 13, where one of the three streams saw Amanah garnering only seven votes compared to PAS' 100 and BN's 157.

Likewise, PAS also lost badly in Chinese areas.

For example, one of the three streams in Sekinchan Selatan, a Chinese area, saw PAS garnering only two votes. Amanah bagged 150 votes while BN got 106 votes.

The biggest winner however is BN, which increased its tally despite a lower voter turnout in this by-election compared to the last general election.

BN defeated PAS with a slim majority of 399 at the 2013 general election. In this by-election, BN won with a massive majority of 9,191, in particular due to a split within the opposition.

Even if one was to add up Amanah and PAS votes, the opposition would still be 2,269 votes behind BN.

It’s the same scenario in Kuala Kangsar, the combined opposition yields 2,086 votes fewer than BN, compared to its 1,082 majority in the last general election.

BN wins twin by-elections with massive majorities

Sungai Besar 

BN - 16,800
Amanah - 7,609
PAS - 6,902

Majority - 9,191

Kuala Kangsar

BN - 12,653
Amanah - 4,883
PAS - 5,684
Bebas - 54

Majority - 6,969

PAS loses big in Chinese-majority Sekinchan

9.30pm: Sg Besar - Compared to when it was with Pakatan Rakyat in the last general election, PAS appears to have lost a huge chunk of support in Chinese-majority Sekinchan, according to unofficial results for the five Chinese-majority voting districts in the constituency.

This is according to data compiled by Amanah from the voting districts of Sekinchan, Sekinchan Selatan, Sekinchan Tempatan Selatan, Sekinchan Tempatan Tengah, and Sekinchan Tempatan (Site B).

The unofficial data shows PAS garnered a total of 292 votes in these areas, far behind the 3,502 which Amanah bagged. BN meanwhile won 2,909 votes in these five districts.

Amanah’s Azhar happy to end up no 2 in Sg Besar

9.10pm: Amanah headquarters, Sg Besar - Azhar Abdul Shukur seems pleased that he has bagged second place based on unofficial results.

"Hebat (great), better than expected," he says.

Though failing to defeat BN, Amanah relegating PAS to third position is considered a sweet achievement in itself.

BN’s victorious candidate arrives at Sg Besar tally centre

9pm: Dewan Seri Bernam, Sungai Besar - Umno leaders and Budiman Mohd Zohdi arrives at the counting centre here.

Among others, Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein, Umno Selangor chief Noh Omar and Umno Sungai Besar division chief Jamal Yunos.

Earlier at PAS operations centre in Simpang Lima, party deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man delivers a final address to the party machinery before commencing the nightly terawih prayers.

Amanah may lose no 2 spot to PAS in K Kangsar

8.40pm: DAP operation centre, Kuala Kangsar - Perak DAP secretary Wong Kah Woh says he is not optimistic that Amanah will be able to top PAS once the ballot boxes in the Malay rural areas are opened.

However, he says for an eight-month-old party, Amanah has given a good fight in the Kuala Kangsar by-election.

“It has fared especially well in urban areas. Biggest challenge now is how to prevent three-cornered fights in the next election,” he adds.

Meanwhile,  Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member S Arutchelvan takes a dig at both PAS and Amanah on Facebook.

Telling them not to be disappointed with the outcome of the by-elections, he says, “We in PSM understand. We too have experience of losing in three-cornered fights.”

BN has unofficially won the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections with higher majorities.

Umno leaders declare victory, thank voters

8.29pm: Messages of thanks began to pour in from BN leaders to the voters in Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar. Among those who are tweeting their gratitude include Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and party IT chief Ahmad Maslan.

Whereas Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang says the swing in Chinese votes to BN shows the community is tired with the opposition.

Syukur Alhamdulillah @barisanasional menang di Sg Besar & Kuala Kangsar. Terima kasih kepada pengundi & jentera.

— Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) June 18, 2016

BN wins twin polls, tight race for second place

8.25pm: As counting continues, as of 8.06pm, Amanah has overtaken PAS in Sungai Besar while BN widens the gap.

According to Bernama, the unofficial results are BN - 14,911 votes, Amanah - 7,230, PAS - 6,342.

8.15pm: According to Bernama, the unofficial results for Sungai Besar as of 7.50pm are - BN - 13,119 votes, Amanah - 5,418 and PAS - 5,653.

The majority for the ruling coalition at present is a whopping 7,446. In the 2013 general election, BN won the seat with a razor-thin 399 votes in a one-to-one contest against PAS..

Unofficial: BN wins K Kangsar, Sg Besar by-elections

7.50pm: Based on unofficial results, BN has won both the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections with higher majorities.

With BN retaining the two seats and its improved performance, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has managed to emerge victorious in what his critics such as Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed as a referendum on his leadership.

Apart from this, the swing in Chinese votes to BN will prove to be a difficult pill for DAP to swallow.

Another focal point is the contest at the sidelines between PAS and its splinter party Amanah with regard to who can garner more votes. However, it is still not clear which of the two will emerge victorious in this contest.

Amanah gives PAS a run for its money

7.20pm: Unofficial results from both the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections show Amanah giving PAS a run for its money by bagging more votes than the Islamic party.

Amanah garnered over 5,500 votes against PAS' 3,000 in Sungai Besar, while in Kuala Kangsar it got over 3,500 compared to PAS, which has slightly above 2,500 votes.

BN however continue to lead in both constituencies with a comfortable lead reaching almost 10,000 votes in Sungai Besar and 7,000 in Kuala Kangsar thus far.

Though if combined, the votes of both the opposition parties Amanah and PAS would have given BN a real challenge.

Still too early to tell, says Perak DAP secretary

7.00pm: Kuala Kangsar - Commenting on the voting pattern in the Kuala Kangsar by-election, Perak DAP secretary Wong Kan Wong says it is still too early to say how each party will fare.

He says this is because the voting pattern shows that the voters vote according to districts instead.

He points out how the Amanah candidate gets 10 votes in one particular stream but 40 percent of votes in another stream, both located in different areas.

According to him, the Chinese in semi-rural areas vote for BN, but the majority of urban Chinese support Amanah.

BN takes Jerlun, biggest Chinese polling district in K Kangsar

6.50 pm: Kuala Kangsar - BN takes Jerlun, which is a 85 percent Chinese majority seat with 568 votes or 52.3 percent.

Whereas Amanah only received 415 votes or 38 percent out of 1,086 votes. Meanwhile, PAS obtained only 88 votes.

Amanah lost all the four polling streams to BN.

In the last general election, PAS, then a member of Pakatan Rakyat, took 68.2 percent of the votes.

Jerlun, which is a 10 minute-drive from the Kuala Kangsar town centre, is the biggest Chinese polling district in the constituency.

Even in other Chinese-majority polling districts which Amanah won, the proportion of votes  garnered is significantly lower than Pakatan Rakyat’s in the 13th general election.

Confident Umno celebrates with fireworks in Sungai Besar

6.30pm: Sg Besar - Confident of retaining the seat, Umno starts celebrating with fireworks outside the party headquarters here even as the votes are being counted.

Unofficial results currently place BN's Budiman Mohd Zohdi in the lead, followed by Amanah's Azhar Abdul Shukor. PAS' Dr Abdul Rani Osman is in last position for now.

Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos however declares victory in a WhatsApp group as early as early as 5.30pm, and called for a fireworks display.

Not long after the two minute display, police arrive at the scene and seize the fireworks.

BN takes early lead in twin by-elections

6.10pm: The first results are trickling in, showing BN taking an early lead in both the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.

In Sungai Besar, BN is ahead with 502 votes followed by Parti Amanah Negara at 391 votes and PAS at 184 votes.

In Kuala Kangsar, BN is leading with 358 votes followed by Amanah with 164 votes and PAS at 101 votes. The independent candidate has four votes.

EC announces voter turnout

5.30pm: The Election Commission announces the final turnout for the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections at 71 percent and 74 percent respectively. This does not include early and postal voters.

This is in contrast to the turnout during the 2013 general election which was at 84.1 percent in Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar at 88 percent.

Today's figure is a likely indication of lower turnout among young voters, many of whom work outstation.

Polling ends, counting begins - referendum on PM or opposition?

5pm: Polling has ended for the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections, after 13 days of intense campaigning to win the hearts and minds of voters.

Contrary to earlier expectations, voter turnout were considered high.

Election Commission officials would now tabulate the ballots for the two parliament seats, whose results could send a strong signal, either to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak or the opposition.

Najib's critics such as his mentor-turned-nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad have urged voters to treat the by-elections as a referendum on the prime minister.

Whereas, it also remains to be seen if the results would reflect what certain political analysts stated as disappointment and fatigue with the bickering opposition parties.

The contests for the Malay-majority constituencies are also significant to PAS and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), which is a splinter of the Islamist party.

The fledgling Amanah has been on the receiving-end of a two-pronged attack - accused of being a DAP puppet, a fusillade trained at Malay voters, as well as described as the same PAS repackaged in new colours, which is aimed at rattling Chinese voters.

In Sungai Besar, BN's Budiman Mohd Zohdi took on Amanah's Azhar Abdul Shukur, and PAS' Dr Abdul Rani Osman.

Meanwhile in Kuala Kangsar, BN fielded Mastura Mohd Yazid to defend her late husband's seat against Amanah nuclear physicist Ahmad Termizi Ramli, PAS' Dr Najihatussalehah Ahmad, and independent candidate Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary.

The seats fell vacant when the incumbents Noriah Kasnon (Sungai Besar) Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad (Kuala Kangsar) were killed together with four others in a recent helicopter crash.