ALOR STAR: During his campaign trail, Pakatan Harapan candidate Bau Wong Bau Ek jokingly told reporters that being Siamese, he stands a chance to survive the 'green wave' as he would be seen as a 'neutral' candidate to the voters.
His hunch was proven right yesterday, when the newcomer survived the fury of a 'green wave' that swept away all bar three PH candidates in the state polls.
Pas-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) extended its dominance in the state with a thumping victory of over two-thirds majority in the Kedah State Assembly after winning 33 out of 36 seats.
In a disastrous outing, Kedah PH chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar failed to secure the Alor Mengkudu state seat while state Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Mahzir Khalid lost in Pedu.
State Amanah chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh, his deputy Mohd Asmirul Anuar Aris, state DAP chairman Tan Kok Yew have lost in the battle to defend their respective seats.
"It was a shocking result. We did not expect a hefty defeat as we were targeting to win at least 16 seats," Bau told the New Straits Times when contacted today.
Despite the setbacks, Bau vowed to do his best as the first ever elected representative from the Siamese community in Kedah.
He had defeated PN candidate Juliana Abdul Ghani by 954 majority votes in a nail biting contest that went down to the wire.
Bau was declared the winner after securing 21,859 votes against his opponent who pulled 20,905 votes.
"It is a small majority but I am glad to clinch the victory. My priority is to represent the voice of the voters in Sidam. I will do my best to resolve issues raised by the constituents.
"At the same time, I will also represent the voice of the Siamese community in the Kedah State Assembly," he said.
Bau added that he welcomed caretaker Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor's pledge to be fair to the opposition assemblymen in the state.
"I hope he will fulfil his pledge and together we will develop the constituency that PN did not win.
"There is a huge number of PN supporters in Sidam and they also deserve attention from the state government," he said.
Bau vowed to provide his service to all residents in Sidam regardless of their race, religion or political ideology.
"I want to be an assemblyman for all in Sidam," he said.
Yesterday evening in a gathering with PN supporters after the official results, the caretaker menteri besar, Sanusi gave his word that the PN state government would be fair to the opposition representatives and all Kedahans.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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