Describing the Manek Urai by-election results as a 'shocker', DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said Pakatan Rakyat parties and leaders must go back to the drawing board.

In a strongly-worded statement today, the veteran politician warned the fledgling opposition alliance that if they do not get their act together, it might spell their doom.

lim kit siang on conversion case 210409 03 "Although the formidable Umno challenge has been fobbed off, the slim PAS majority in Manek Urai is nonetheless a shocker," he said.

"It is a salutary warning to Pakatan parties and leaders who think that we can indulge in the luxury of excesses and internal strife, mistakenly believing that it is riding on such an irresistible political wave that it could not possibly lose in any by-election or in the next general elections.

"Pakatan parties and leaders must go back to the drawing board to sustain public confidence, support and hope which suffered grievous blows particularly in the last month," he added.

Lim said Pakatan's string of by-election victories in Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu, Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Penanti have fed a false sense of security and worse, the notion of the inevitability of victory in the next general election.

End internal hemorrhage

"If Pakatan parties and leaders do not immediately pull themselves up by the bootstraps, public confidence, support and hope will be the major casualties.

"The Pakatan leadership council meeting this Friday can be a turning point. The slide in public confidence must be acknowledged, checked and arrested," he said.

Lim, who is the Ipoh Timur MP, called for an immediate mechanism to be established to end the internal hemorrhage from self-inflicted wounds arising from inter and intra party differences.

He said these issues are aired publicly instead of addressing and resolving them in Pakatan channels.

This, he pointed out, demonstrated a lack of cohesion, coherence, unity, discipline and common sense of purpose which can only redound in the loss of public support and confidence.

Najib is satisfied

On the other side of the fence, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak expressed satisfaction with the results.

najib tun razak 220509 PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah had retained the seat for his party by defeating Barisan Nasional's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat by a mere 65 votes.

Najib attributed the swing of votes to the acceptance by the people, especially the Malays, of the measures introduced during the 103 days thus far that he has been the prime minister.

Although BN failed to capture the seat, the result of the by-election was most encouraging, more so because the by-election took place in the Malay heartland, he said.

"Hopefully, the people's rising support and trust will continue," Najib, who is also BN chairperson, was quoted as saying by Bernama .

He said the by-election results showed that the BN was beginning to regain the people's confidence and that continuing with the efforts which have been taken thus far would place the ruling coalition on a stronger footing.

"We cannot (as yet) say that everything (we have done) has passed the test but I am most satisfied that what we have started over the last 103 days has received encouraging response from the people," he said.

'Huge moral victory'

The prime minister said he had conveyed his appreciation and congratulations to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Kelantan BN election director Mustapa Mohamed and the BN candidate.

tuan aziz tuan mat fauzi abdullah manek urai by election 290609 2 "Although we did not win, the result is a huge moral victory for the BN," he said in reference to the difference between the current 65-vote majority and the 1,352-vote majority PAS had garnered during the general election last year.

On the 117 spoilt votes, which exceeded the 65-vote majority, Najib said BN had yet to ascertain the reason for such a large number of spoilt votes.

He said BN would register an objection if it suspected any irregularity during the by-election. Otherwise, the BN would accept the result and consider it as a moral victory, he added.

On the issues which could have influenced the voters in Manik Urai, Najib said: "We have to assess whether they were influenced by national issues or local issues or if it was a combination of both."

"But whatever it is, we are gratified that there is a major swing that has taken place in Manik Urai. And this is part of the Malay heartland," he added.