Kerdau PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim ( photo below, in pink ) says the pain of defeat is only temporary but will spur him to work harder.

NONE “I will be sad for only a while, but this will make me move faster,” he said with a laugh during a press conference at PAS’ operations centre in Kerdau today.

Reflecting on his latest loss at the hands of BN’s debutante Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad, Hassanuddin said little apart from congratulating his rival for the victory.

“I hope that he (Syed Ibrahim) will do his best to serve the constituency as promised,” he said.

Hassanuddin lost by a 2,624 margin, earning 2,336 votes to Syed Ibrahim’s 5,060 tally.

PAS campaign director Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, in a quick analysis, noted that the increase in registered voters in the area contributed to their latest loss to Umno.

“However, in terms of the total votes in the three Felda areas, we have improved,” he said, referring to the Felda Jengka 22, 23 and 25 settlements that are traditionally considered a BN vote bank.

BN campaign tactics 'excessive'

Tuan Ibrahim disagreed with the view that their loss in Kerdau translates to a loss in influence among the Malays, stressing that Kerdau is a BN stronghold to begin with.

NONE “With all their (election) machinery, it was quite difficult for us. To me, (the result) is merely a small decline (in support),” he said.

He pointed out that the BN had engaged in such unacceptable behaviour during this by-election, that he described as the “most excessive”.

He said PAS will push for such issues to be raised at a future rally through Bersih 2.0.

Tuan Ibrahim also denied that Pakatan Rakyat had failed to convey the essence of their much-touted Buku Jingga (Orange Book) to the electorate, saying that this by-election was heavily skewed towards local issues.