breaking news

PAS has successfully retained the Anak Bukit state seat with its candidate Amiruddin Hamzah defeating Barisan Nasional's Zakaria Said by a slim majority of 508 votes.

Amiruddin obtained 8,298 votes while Zakaria garnered 7,790 votes.

However, PAS' majority was reduced by 1,332 votes compared to the 1999 general election.

In that election, the late PAS president Mohd Fadzil Noor won the seat by obtaining 8,480 votes while the BN candidate got 6,640 votes.

The voter turnout in Anak Bukit has also increased to 84 percent of the total 19,399 registered voters, as compared to 77.89 percent in 1999.

BN 'relieved'

Commenting on the results, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said despite the defeat, the ruling coalition is "relieved" to have reduced the majority votes garnered by PAS.

"We managed to enter areas which were previously closed to us. This is PAS' fort and the state seat was held by Fadzil Noor.

We had increased support but it is not enough for a victory," he told reporters.

Asked if the defeat could be due to the unsuitability of the candidate, Abdullah said no analysis has been done yet.