SHAH ALAM: Pakatan Harapan is expected to retain the Semenyih state seat in the coming by-election by a narrow margin, according to a survey conducted by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE), a think-tank under the Selangor government.

IDE deputy chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said its survey found that Pakatan would be able to retain 46% of the vote in the by-election, while Barisan Nasional might get 37%.

The survey, conducted between Jan 30 and Feb 1, involved some 1,142 registered voters in the Semenyih state constituency across 23 voting districts.

About 12% of respondents pledged support for other candidates, while the remaining 5% said they would be casting votes for independent candidates.

However, Dr Mohammad Redzuan said that despite the findings of the survey, there are no clear winners in the looming by-election.

“The battleground lies with those who said they would vote for others and those who will vote for independent candidates,” he said.

In the 14th General Election, Pakatan won 50.76% of the vote.

Dr Mohammad Redzuan said voters were generally satisfied with the administration of the Selangor state government, as 61% of those surveyed expressed positive remarks.

“There is only 39% who are negative,” he added.

There are 53,257 registered voters in Semenyih, of which 67.7% are Malays, 16.7% Chinese, 13.7% Indian, 0.5% East Malaysians, 0.5% orang asli and 0.8% “Others”.

The survey found that 46% of Malay voters were dissatisfied with the state government, followed by 22% of Chinese and 18% percent of Indian voters.

While Barisan and Pakatan will only announce their candidates later Thursday (Feb 14), Dr Mohammad Redzuan said that the choice of candidates will play an important role in the by-election.

“This shows that the two coalitions know that the choice of candidates will determine the winner.

“Candidates play a strong factor here. Voters want to see who both parties will offer in the by-election, and they may change their votes accordingly,” he said.

Dr Mohammad Redzuan added that voters are generally happy with the Pakatan leadership at the federal level.

However, he pointed out that voters are concerned over the rising cost of living.

“Malaysians are still hoping for continued efforts by the government to address issues pertaining to the cost of living and prices of goods,” he said.

Dr Mohammad Redzuan added that the survey found that the projected voter turnout would be about 84%.

The by-election was called following the death of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on Jan 11.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has named 25-year-old Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, a local entrepreneur who currently runs a reflexology centre in Semenyih Sentral, to contest.

Philanthropist Kuan Chee Heng, known as the “10-sen Man” is also contesting.

The Election Commission has fixed nomination day on Feb 16 while early voting will be held on Feb 26 and polling on March 2.

In GE14, Bakhtiar, who was also the Semenyih Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia division chief, had garnered 23,428 votes against the then incumbent Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz of Barisan who got 14,464 votes.

PAS candidate Mad Shahmiour Mat Kosim received 6,966 votes while PSM's S. Arutchelvan got 1,293 votes.