Death Of Teluk Intan MP Triggers Nation's Sixth By-Election

Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Mah Siew Keong and DAP’s Ramkarpal Singh were sworn as members of parliament this morning.

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Ahli Parlimen Teluk Intan, Datuk Mah Siew Keong masih buntu dengan statusnya sama ada akan diberikan jawatan dalam Kabinet seperti yang dijanjikan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak, atau tidak.

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Mah who is also Gerakan president took his oath as the Teluk Intan Parliamentary member after winning the area's by-election on May 31 beating DAP candidate, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud with a majority of 238 votes.

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"Saya tidak diberi maklumat sehingga hari ini, saya pun tidak tahu bila. "Itu bidang kuasa perdana menteri, apa saja keputusannya kita akan akur," katanya pada sidang media di lobi Parlimen hari ini.

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Deputy speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee congratulated the newly elected MPs of Bukit Gelugor and Tekuk Intan. "It is hoped the two MPs will offer their contribution to the House, country and render their service excellently," he added.

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Mah wins with a majority of 238 votes. BN: 20,157, DAP: 19,919, Spoilt votes: 550.

There appears to be a slight swing of Chinese voters back to BN. Significantly, Batu 12, a previous DAP stronghold was won by BN. DAP won by 68.5 percent of votes last year. This time, BN won by 51.53 percent. BN won all three voting streams at the Chinese new village.

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Sadness looms over the DAP operations centre here following the DAP already conceding defeat based on the unofficial result. In her speech, Dyana Sofya said that although she had lost, her fight continues. “This fight has to continue. I invite all of you to join me in pursuing this cause,” she said in front of some 200 supporters, while trying to hold back tears.

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Dyana Sofya added that in convincing folks in Teluk Intan that she was serious about becoming their representative, she said she has decided to reside in the constituency and serve the rakyat despite her loss.

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Activist Marina Mahathir congratulates Mah for the victory but also gives newcomer Dyana a pat on the back. "I'd like to congratulate Mr Mah for winning and (Dyana) for almost getting there. Good show for a newbie," she said on Twitter.

LIVE Teluk Intan Unofficial Results at 7:56pm: DAP 19,919. BN 20,157. Spoilt 550. Majority: 238

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The Election Commission has announced the end of polling at 5pm. All the 35 polling stations are closed for voting. The commission is finalising the overall turnout rate and will announce it shortly. At 4pm, 63 .67 % voters have already cast their votes in the Teluk Intan by-election .

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A total of 38,1586 out of the 59,927 eligible voters have cast their votes by 4pm ,” said an Election Commission official. The by-election is a two-way fight between Barisan Nasional candidate, Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong, and DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, the political secretary to party adviser Lim Kit Siang.

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Voting began at 8am at 35 polling centres. The seat was left vacant after its incumbent, DAP’s Seah Leong Peng, passed away earlier this month due to cancer. Perak Election Commission (EC) chief Ahmad Adli Abdullah said counting of votes will start soon after polling centres close at 5pm, and the result was expected to be announced as early as 9pm.

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Folks in Teluk Intan hit the polls today to vote in their new parliamentary representative after the passing of their former MP Seah Leong Peng of DAP from cancer.

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Voting begins at 8am at 35 polling centres. 32.55% or 19,508 voters have cast their votes as at 11am. EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof arrives at the polling station at SMK Seri Perak to observe the running of the voting process.

A BN campaign worker stops Malaysiakini's journalist from taking free booklets and flyers from the ruling coalition's counter set up outside the polling station. "You are from Malaysiakini, you spin (stories) all the time, so you can't take these," he says. When the journalist points out it is for free distribution, the man replies, "Yes it's free, but you can't have it." The flyers are about photographs of Dyana and DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, accusing them of being traitors, while the booklet's cover depicts Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, but its contents are unknown.

The BN and DAP supporters are still trading barbs at each other, while using nasty language. The DAP camp is relatively calm with only two or three people responding to the BN youths shouting and heckling under the hot sun. Police are watching over the standoff calmly.

EC chairman Abdul Aziz Yusoff brushes off the standoff (watch video) at Kampung Bahagia as "not serious" since things "did not get physical". "I attribute this to the small road leading up the school," he says during a press conference at the media operations room at a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) building along Jalan Changkat Jong.

The official results for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election could be known as early as 9pm on Saturday. Perak Election Commission chairman Ahmad Adli Abdullah said counting would begin after the polling stations closed at 5pm.

“From the 60,349 registered voters, only 59,927 are eligible to cast their ballots. “A turnout of about 80% is expected in the by-election,” he told journalists here on Friday, adding that counting would be carried out at SMK Abdul Rahman Talib.

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Ahmad Adli said the EC has prepared 120 channels and each of these would be monitored by the police to ensure a smooth voting process. He also advised voters to come out as early as they could on Saturday. “I also urge voters not to wear shirts that depict the two contesting parties to the polling centres. “Supporters from both parties are also not allowed to gather at or be near the polling centres,” he said.

Meanwhile, at10.15am, one of the buses arranged by DAP arrives from Kuala Lumpur with about 10 voters. A card bearing words like 'Jom Balik Undi, Vote Wisely, Vote for the future of the our country' is placed at the bus dashboard. None of the voters are willing to be interviewed by the press outside the school compound.

Constituents in Teluk Intan wake up to discover that one of the poster featuring DAP candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud was vandalised. The word 'babi' (pig) was written on the poster, located beside Jalan Sultan Abdullah, near Hotel Intan, clearly as a means to disrespect the Malay-Muslim candidate.

Tony Pua: "Found campaign Billboards all over the city vandalised this morning. Well, thanks to the good people of Teluk Intan, it was quickly rectified ;-)..."

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On 27 May, vandals spray painted the word 'bodoh' (stupid) on BN candidate Mah Siew Keong's banner at Jalan Sungai Nibong. This is the second time Mah's campaign material has been vandalised with black paint. Bernama reports that Mah was notified of this via text messages from locals. "This has never happened before in Teluk Intan as it is against our culture," the newswire quotes him as saying.

A Cabinet appointment awaits Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong if he wins the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election on Saturday.

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Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong will take full responsibility if he loses in the parliamentary by-election. Mah said being the party president, he was under a lot of pressure and he would take the "necessary" actions if he loses to DAP's Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud on Saturday.

“Gerakan has been a founder member of BN and the Gerakan president has always been a minister," Najib.

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"I can make a commitment here, if Datuk Mah wins the Teluk Intan by-election, then by virtue of being Gerakan president, he will be appointed a member of the Cabinet," Najib told the Malaysian media covering his six-day visit to China here.

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Following Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announcement that BN's Teluk Intan candidate Mah Siew Keong will be made a minister if he wins, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng says the announcement is unnecessary. Lim says this is because Mah will be appointed into the cabinet regardless of the polls outcome, as Mah is the Gerakan president.

Former Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon and MIC president G Palanivel lost in the general election, but they were both ultimately appointed as senators as a move to make them cabinet ministers, says Lim at the ceramah at Jalan Mahkota in Teluk Intan town. He says it did not matter if the duo entered from the front door or the back door, they were eventually made ministers anyway.

To the good people of Teluk Intan, It has been an exhausting but exhilarating two weeks since I was nominated by my party to be the candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election. I have experienced more in the last two weeks than any time in my 27 years of age.

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"Suddenly, I became the centre of attention of Umno ministers who could not resist taking digs at my looks. My looks and appearance are not important at all in this very important by-election. I did not sign up with DAP to take part in beauty pageants. I urge the voters of Teluk Intan to judge me for my ideals, my principles and my dreams for a better Malaysia."

"I want to win this election not because of my appearance, but because of my ability to make a difference in the Malaysian political landscape in the highest legislative institution of the country."

"My opponents have attacked me viciously behind nameless blogs aligned to Barisan Nasional (BN), as well as anonymous leaflets denigrating me with fake pictures and spurious allegations of my moral ethics. The most vicious of the attacks came from a former minister who accused me of being a "traitor" to the Malay race."

"It clearly does not matter to these people that the real traitors to the race are the BN leaders who abused their powers, enriched their friends and families and indulge in corruption at the expense of ordinary Malays and Malaysians. These dirty and vicious tactics from our opponents will not waver my will to fight for the rights of all Malaysians, especially for those who are marginalized and discriminated against. I will not be intimidated and I will not be a traitor to Malaysians."

"I want to prove to Malaysians that you don't have to be a Chinese to help a Chinese, a Malay to help a Malay, and an Indian to help and Indian. I want to lead by example to build a country where a Malay can help a Chinese, a Chinese can assist an Indian and an Indian can support a Malay. My ambition is to Malaysianise Malaysia again."

Early voting for the Teluk Intan by-election for 410 voters began at the Hilir Perak police district headquarters at 8 am today, Bernama reports.

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The early polling process, which kicked off at about 8am, saw hundreds of police queuing up patiently as they waited for their turn to cast their vote.

The voting process for the electors comprising mainly policemen and their family members closes at 5pm.

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The nomination process for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election began at 9 am at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Perak, Jalan Changkat Jong here today. Returning officer Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad made an official announcement on the eligible candidates for the by-election after the process closes at 10 am.

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The atmosphere at the nomination centre for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election is electric, with supporters from the contesting parties engaged in a fierce stand-off.Armed with flags and banners, the face-off between supporters of BN and DAP turned fiery as they hurled slogans at each other.

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Not to be outdone, BN supporters, some 500-strong began chanting "Pakatan kalah" and "Hidup BN". Meanwhile, the rival camp cried out: "Tolak BN" and "Tumbang Gerakan". Some 500 police officers and Federal Reserve Unit personnel can be seen standing by to ensure security.

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After a lengthy deliberation, DAP, in what has been termed as a bold move, decided to field 27-year-old lawyer and Lim Kit Siang's former political secretary, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud for the by-election. Although Teluk Intan is a Chinese-majority seat, DAP is riding on Dyana's image as a young, rising Malay star in a party that is often accused of being too Chinese-centric.

If elected, she will become DAP's first Malay female MP, the second youngest DAP MP to be elected (after Fong Po Kuan for Batu Gajah in 1999) and only the third Malay parliamentarian for the party in the current sitting.

But she faces veteran politician Mah Siew Keong, the current Gerakan president, who previously held the seat between 1999 to 2008 and is a local boy who is well known in the constituency. But the 53-year-old (left) will count on his experience and the strength of the BN machinery for the 12-day campaign period before Teluk Intan goes to polls on May 31.

The political aide to DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang is being targeted by an Internet smear campaign using photos of a woman in a bikini that her attackers claim resemble her.

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But Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud today rubbished the allegation that she was the woman shown in the images, which have since been shown to be of a foreign actress.

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“I am disappointed that people will act so low to tarnish my image for political reasons after rumours of me contesting spread. But I accept that good people will always be victimised. I am in politics to serve the people,” she said. Dyana also received abusive calls and SMS after the pictures made rounds on the Internet.

According to the newspaper, Internet users have pointed out that the woman shown wearing the two-piece swimsuit in the photographs is Filipino actress Pauleen Luna.

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Dyana, however, said that she was not aware of the candidacy and did not know whether she would be running for the seat.

Dyana, who joined DAP in 2011, currently serves as Lim’s political secretary and had previously helped him in his successful campaign for the Gelang Patah seat in the 13th general election. The smear campaign against her comes less than a week before the Teluk Intan nomination day on May 19. The Teluk Intan parliamentary seat went vacant after Dyana’s 48-year-old party colleague Seah Leong Peng passed away from cancer on May 1.

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The Election Commission (EC) has set May 31 as polling day for the Teluk Intan by-election following the death of its MP Seah Leong Peng from cancer on May 1. Nomination will be on May 19 while early voting is set for May 27.

The Teluk Intan by-election, scheduled for May 31 will be an interesting event with 45 people above the age of 100 among the registered voters, said Election Commission (EC) Chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

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The oldest of these centenarians is 111, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof when announcing the by-election date at a press conference today. He said 23 of them were exactly 100 years old, 13 were 101, four were 102, one was 103, two were 104, one was 109 and one was 111. Abdul Aziz did not disclose the gender of the centenarians.

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However, he said the constituency had more female voters than men, 31,049 to 29,300.

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The Election Commission (EC) is to hold a special meeting on Thursday to set the date for a by-election in the parliamentary constituency of Teluk Intan, EC secretary Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh said today.

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Abdul Ghani said in a statement that the meeting, to be chaired by EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, would be held at the EC office at 10am and a press conference would be held after that.

He said the EC was officially informed at 9.25 am today by the Dewan Rakyat speaker of the vacancy of the seat following the death of the MP, Seah Leong Peng of the DAP, last Thursday.

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Seah, 48, died of cancer at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur at about 7.30am last Thursday.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Ipoh Timur MP Thomas Su said Seah died from bladder cancer at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre here at about 7.45am. "He was diagnosed earlier in February and his condition worsened.

According to DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Seah was only diagnosed with cancer around two to three months ago, before the cancer quickly spread. Seah was on medical leave and missed the party’s sitting in March, Loke said.

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He was a three-term assemblyman for Pasir Bedamar since 1999.

In the 13th general election, held last year, Seah won the seat with a 7,313-vote majority by beating Mah Siew Keong of the Barisan Nasional and an Independent candidate, Moralingam Kannan.