PH retains Pulai, Simpang Jeram with reduced majorities

Pakatan Harapan (PH) has retained the Pulai parliamentary seat and the Simpang Jeram state seat following the Johor by-elections today, after candidates Suhaizan Kayat and Nazri Abdul Rahman won with a majority of 18,641 votes and 3,514 votes, respectively.

PH, which has joined forces with Barisan Nasional, however, clinched a victory in the Pulai seat with a smaller majority compared to the significant 33,174 majority the coalition achieved in the 15th general election.

Suhaizan, the Johor Amanah vice-chairman, polled 48,283 votes to beat Zulkifli Jaafar from Perikatan Nasional (PN), who garnered 29,642 votes, and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi, who obtained 528 votes and lost his deposit.

Meanwhile, Nazri, the Bakri Amanah deputy chief, obtained 13,844 votes to beat PN's Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, who received 10,330 votes, and independent candidate S Jeganathan, who got only 311 votes and lost his deposit.

Pulai, a Chinese-majority seat considered a PH stronghold, has 165,509 voters.

Simpang Jeram, meanwhile, has 40,301 voters, with Malays comprising a little over 51% of the electorate.

The two by-elections were held following the death of Salahuddin Ayub, who was the incumbent for both seats, on July 23.