2018 Sungai Kandis by-election explained

Election Name:2018 Sungai Kandis by-election
Country:Selangor
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2018 Malaysian general election
Previous Year:2018
Next Election:2023 Selangor state election
Next Year:2023
Seats For Election:N49 Sungai Kandis seat in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly
Election Date:4 August 2018
Image1: PH
Candidate1:Zawawi Mughni
Color1:00ADEF
Party1:PKR
Alliance1:PH
Popular Vote1:15,427
Percentage1:60.72%
Candidate2:Lokman Noor Adam
Color2:092781
Party2:UMNO
Alliance2:BN
Popular Vote2:9,585
Percentage2:38.17%
Image3: IND
Color3:DDDDDD
Candidate3:Murthy Krishnasamy
Party3:Independent
Popular Vote3:97
Percentage3:0.39%
Sungai Kandis assemblyman
Before Election:Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei (died)
Before Party:Pakatan Harapan (PKR)
After Election:Zawawi Ahmad Mughni
After Party:Pakatan Harapan (PKR)

A by-election was held on 4 August 2018 for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly seat of Sungai Kandis.[1] The seat became vacant after the death of the former assemblyman, Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei from lymphatic cancer on 2 July 2018.[2] Mat Shuhaimi was a member of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a component party of the state ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. He won his seat after defeating BN, PAS and PRM candidates with a majority of 12,480 votes.[3] It is the first by-election since the historic May 2018 general election that saw the first-ever change of federal government since independence.

The by-election was won by PKR's Zawawi Mughni amidst a drop in turnout.[4]

Background

The Sungai Kandis constituency contained the polling districts of Seksyen 34 Shah Alam, Sungai Kandis, Teluk Menegun, LLN Connought Bridge, Kampung Pandan, Kampung Jawa, Kota Raja, Taman Seri Andalas 1, Taman Seri Andalas 2, Taman Klang Jaya 1, Sentosa Dato Yusof Shahbuddin, Bukit Jati, Taman Seri Andalas 3, Taman Desawan, Sentosa Dato Abdul Hamid 1, Sentosa Dato Dagang, Jalan Raya Timur, Taman Klang Jaya 2, Sentosa Dato Abdul Hamid 2, Taman Maznah, Taman Menara Maju.[5] It encompassed the southern part of Shah Alam and part of Klang City around Jalan Kebun.

The electoral roll to be used for this by-election was from the first quarter of 2018, last updated on 2 July 2018. The electoral roll contained 51,230 registered voters comprising 51,217 ordinary voters and 13 overseas voters. There was no early voters in the by-election, while the overseas and domestic postal voting applications was opened from 8 to 21 July. The Tanjung Hall of the Shah Alam City Council was used as the nomination centre and the official vote tallying centre.[6]

It was estimated that the by-election would cost RM1.4 million. The EC also made several improvements for this by-election, including setting up two polling lanes for voters aged 60 and above, and adding more polling lanes at polling centres that had many voters. A total of 21 new lanes were created to avoid overcrowding of the voting lanes, making it a total of 109 lanes compared to 88 during the 2018 Malaysian general election.[6]

The polling hours was extended from 8 am to 5.30 pm instead of 5pm in the general election. Any non-governmental organisations meeting the conditions were also allowed to observe the election process from the nomination day until the election results were announced.[6]

Last election result

Timeline

DateEvent
21 July 2018Nomination day
21 July - 4 August 2018Campaigning period
n/aEarly voting for postal and advance voters
4 August 2018Polling day

Nomination

The nomination day for the elections was on 21 July 2018.[7] The nomination for the by-election begun at 9am at Tanjung Hall in Section 19.[8] As initially expected, the by-election was a straight contest between the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, with PAS bowing out to make way for BN.[9] Three candidates were contesting the seat. PKR chose Zawawi Mughni as their candidate for the by-election.[10] Barisan Nasional chose Lokman Noor Adam, an UMNO Supreme Council member as their candidate.[11] Independent Murthy Krishnasamy was the third candidate for the by-election.[7]

Candidates

Qualified candidates
width=3%
  1. !
width=10%Candidates !Party Alliance width=3%Age !width=10%Occupation !width=20%Other background
1Zawawi MughniPakatan HarapanReligious teacher PKR Religious Understanding and Consolidation Bureau (BIPPA) secretary
2Murthy KrishnasamyIndependentPensionerFormer Selangor government staff[12]
3Lokman Noor AdamUnited Malays National OrganisationBarisan NasionalNGO memberSacked former Finance Ministry's strategic communications director
Founder of NGO Pemantau Malaysia Baru
Former PKR member, joined UMNO in 2007[13]
Withdrew

Campaign

The Pakatan Harapan candidate used the PKR logo as part of their campaign instead of the Pakatan Harapan logo as this logo was more recognised by the electorate of this constituency.[15] [16]

Result

Zawawi Mughni won the by-election with a majority of 5,842 votes.[4] PAS supporters were split between PH and BN despite PAS leadership's explicit support for the BN candidate.[17]

Results according to polling districts

Voting District Code Voting District Party
Post Votes PKR
111/49/01 Seksyen 34 Shah Alam PKR
111/49/02 Sungai Kandis PKR
111/49/03 Teluk Menegun PKR
111/49/04 LLN Connought Bridge PKR
111/49/05 Kampung Pandan BN
111/49/06 Kampung Jawa PKR
111/49/07 Kota Raja PKR
111/49/08 Taman Seri Andalas 1 PKR
111/49/09 Taman Seri Andalas 2 PKR
111/49/10 Bukit Jati PKR
111/49/11 Taman Seri Andalas 3 PKR
111/49/12 Jalan Raya Timur PKR
111/49/13 Bandar Puteri Klang PKR
111/49/14 Jalan Kebun PKR
111/49/15 Johan Setia BN
111/49/16 Seri Gambut BN
111/49/17 Kampung Bukit Naga BN
111/49/18 Haji Husin Jalan Kebun PKR
111/49/19 Taman Berjaya PKR

Notes and References

  1. News: Sungai Kandis by-election on Aug 4. Annabelle. Lee. Malaysiakini. 9 July 2018. 9 July 2018.
  2. News: Sg Kandis by-election: Nomination on July 21, polls on Aug 4. The Star. 9 July 2018. 9 July 2018.
  3. News: Sg Kandis by-election: Six years on, Mohd Zawawi finds himself on the front line. The Edge. 20 July 2018. 20 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180720165626/http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/sg-kandis-byelection-six-years-mohd-zawawi-finds-himself-front-line. 20 July 2018. dead.
  4. News: Official: PKR retains Sg Kandis with majority of 5,842 votes. Malaysiakini. 4 August 2018. 4 August 2018.
  5. Web site: Federal Government Gazette - Notice of Polling Districts and Polling Centres for the Federal Constituencies and State Constituencies of the States of Malaya [P.U. (B) 197/2016]]. 29 April 2016. Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. 2016-06-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20190328131558/http://www.federalgazette.agc.gov.my/outputp/pub_20160429_P.U.(B)197.pdf. 28 March 2019. dead.
  6. Web site: Sg Kandis by-election: nomination day on July 21, polling day on Aug 4. Bernama. 9 July 2018. 22 July 2018.
  7. News: Three-cornered fight in Sg Kandis by-election. Alyaa. Alhadjri. Malaysiakini. 21 July 2018. 21 July 2018.
  8. News: Sg Kandis by-election: Nomination day. The Star. 21 July 2018. 22 July 2018.
  9. News: Sungai Kandis: PAS bows out, clear path for BN-Harapan clash. Shakira. Buang. Malaysiakini. 19 July 2018. 20 July 2018.
  10. News: PKR picks religious teacher to contest Sg Kandis seat. Chee Hong. Lum. Malaysiakini. 19 July 2018. 20 July 2018.
  11. News: Umno names Lokman Adam as Sungai Kandis candidate. Syed. Jaymal Zahiid. Malay Mail Online. 20 July 2018. 20 July 2018.
  12. News: Independent candidate in Sg Kandis by-election inspired by PM. New Straits Times. 21 July 2018. 22 July 2018.
  13. News: Lokman is Umno's pick to contest Sg Kandis by-election. The Star. 21 July 2018. 22 July 2018.
  14. News: Independent candidate pulls out of Sg Kandis by-election at 11th hour. New Straits Times. 21 July 2018. 22 July 2018.
  15. News: PH to use PKR logo in Sungai Kandis by-election. The Star. 7 July 2018. 21 July 2018.
  16. News: PH stays with PKR logo for Sg Kandis by-election. Free Malaysia Today. 13 July 2018. 22 July 2018.
  17. News: Sungai Kandis By-Election. Malaysiakini. 4 August 2018. 5 August 2018.