Melaka election shows people want political stability, says PBB leader

The outcome of the Melaka state election last weekend has sent a clear message that the people want political stability in the country, Sarawak Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu vice-president Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said today.

The election saw Barisan Nasional (BN) winning 21 of the 28 seats it contested, while Pakatan Harapan won five seats and Perikatan Nasional, two.

“I have never seen BN win with so much style in Melaka,” Karim said when asked to comment on the polls.

“Even though Umno is facing internal problems due to its leadership, you can see that the people are still willing to vote for the party. This shows that the people have trust in the new leaders who were brought in as candidates,” he added.

Karim, who holds the Asajaya state seat in Sarawak, said the election outcome also showed that people were against the culture of political “frogging”.

“It is a good development because the people have shown that they want political stability. We can’t run from that, and I believe the people of Melaka are fed up with political leaders who jump here and there, and have been fighting with each other and disrupting the government’s work.”

Karim said those who contest and win on a party ticket should not jump ship later on as this would mean turning their backs on those who had lent them their support during the election.

“This is especially for voters, because they vote for us as individuals who represent the party. Of course the people get angry because they voted for candidates from a particular party and then they ran away,” he added.

“That’s why you see those frogs losing in Melaka.”

The Melaka state election was triggered by the move by four assemblymen to withdraw their support for the leadership of Sulaiman Md Ali, who was sworn in as chief minister again after BN’s victory on Saturday.