Don't blame PAS for Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud's defeat in the Teluk Intan by-election last month as Hudud was not a factor at all, Kelantan's deputy chief minister Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said.

 

Mohd Amar was reported by Sinar Harian today saying that DAP may have fielded the wrong candidate in Teluk Intan when it chose an young Malay girl.

 

He held that If hudud was a factor that turned Chinese voters away from DAP or Pakatan, then DAP would not have won Bukit Gelugor by-election with such overwhelming support.

 

"If Hudud caused the downfall of DAP in Teluk Intan, then the same should have happened in Bukit Gelugor too," Mohd Amar was quoted saying.

 

In Bukit Gelugor, DAP’s Ramkarpal Singh ( right ) won with an overwhelming majority against independent candidates, retaining the DAP seat after the death of his father Karpal Singh.

 

Mohd Amar opined that the DAP loss in Teluk Intan was because of protest votes from the Chinese community who may not like Dyana.

 

"The Chinese want their own kind, as all this while they never had a Malay rep, only Indians and Chinese. Suddenly, you spring on them a Malay who is also young and a non-local," Mohd Amar said.

 

Mohd Amar was the chairperson of the technical committee pushing for the private parliamentary bill to facilitate the implementation of Hudud law in Kelantan.

 

In the by-election concluded on May 31, BN candidate and Gerakan's Mah Siew Keong defeated Dyana Sofya with 238 more votes. The election saw a low voter turnout of less than 70 percent.