KUALA KRAI, July 18 — Barisan Nasional (BN) will not neglect the people of Manek Urai although the party did not win in the recently-concluded by-election.
Kelantan Umno liaison chairman Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the coalition would fulfil promises made during the campaigning period, especially in terms of development in the constituency.
"BN will not neglect the people of Manek Urai although we lost the recent by-election... we will also fulfil the promises we made, depending on our financial capacity.
"A month after the by-election, the federal government has already spent RM11 million on Manek Urai to fix bridges, roads and the like.
"This is the allocation we normally provide because we know the state government cannot be counted upon as they provide very little allocation," he told reporters after a meeting with Manek Urai residents today.
Also present were defeated Umno candidate Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, Kuala Krai Umno division head Datuk Ramzi Abdul Rahman, former Kuala Krai division head Datuk Wan Zaid Wan Abdullah, among others.
BN lost by a slim majority of 65 votes in the by-election which concluded last Tuesday. PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah garnered 5,348 votes while Tuan Aziz obtained 5,283 votes.
The by-election was held following the death of incumbent Ismail Yaacob from PAS on May 22.
Mustapa, who is also Manek Urai BN election director, said he would discuss with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on the projects promised or requested by the constituents.
Mustapa, who is also international trade and industry minister, said all nine ballot boxes of the Manek Urai constituency would be "adopted" by ministers to ensure the area continues to receive attention although it was an opposition stronghold.
In another development, he said the BN was waiting for the results of the by-election to be gazetted by the Election Commission (EC) before considering follow-up action, including filing a petition against it.
He said BN would also study tip-offs on vote-buying by the opposition during the by-election.
Mustapa was commenting on rumours that the vote count of the Manek Urai Lama ballot box showed that BN should have won with a majority of 289 votes but the EC announced it as 189 votes.
He said the EC's decision largely impacted the outcome of the by-election, resulting in BN's losing by 65 votes.— Bernama
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
