Youths Want Third Force We Re On Right Path Bawani Says After Psm S Loss

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AYER KUNING POLLS | Notable inroads made by PSM in its second bid for the Ayer Kuning state seat could potentially have been more pronounced if a higher number of youth voters had cast their ballots, the party believes.
The party’s candidate, Bawani KS, said that despite PSM’s defeat at the polls yesterday, it remains firm in its belief that the rakyat, especially those from the younger generation, are seeking an alternative voice.
“The younger voters are the ones who are looking for a political third force,” Bawani told Malaysiakini last night in an immediate reaction to her defeat.
“Unfortunately, with the lower voter turnout, particularly among younger voters, (the desire) was not completely reflected in our collected ballots.”
Previous reports indicated that 46 percent of Ayer Kuning voters aged 18 to 39 work elsewhere in more urban areas, with 31,897 eligible to vote.
The recent polls also showed a distinctive decrease in votes cast, with only about 58 percent of voters showing up, compared to 74 percent in 2022 during the general election.
While yesterday’s by-election marked the second time PSM has lost its deposit in vying for the state constituency, the party showed marked progress in terms of votes gathered.
With its vote share more than doubling from 2.5 percent to six percent while total votes shot up from 586 to 1,106, PSM also made gains in 18 out of 20 districts.
Some traction gained
Commenting on PSM’s apparent headway in its fight for the seat against giants BN and Perikatan Nasional, Bawani highlighted that PSM appears to have gained some traction in predominantly Malay districts such as Kampung Coldstream and Kampung Raya.
“We see (the improved performance) as a sign that we’re winning the public’s support.
Ayer Kuning candidates (from left) PSM’s Bawani KS, BN’s Yusri Bakir and Perikatan Nasional’s Abd Muhaimin Malek after casting their votes yesterday“People are still voting based on what party a candidate is from instead of looking at each candidate individually, but we’ve started to show that we’re a solid third force,” the PSM deputy secretary-general added.
When asked about the party’s future in Ayer Kuning following its loss at the polls, Bawani assured that she would continue to aid residents who need assistance to the best of her abilities.
“We’ve done a lot of work here with farmers, factory workers and people from all sorts of communities.
“This is my third time losing my election deposit, but I’m still here for the people and I always will be - regardless of whether PSM wins or loses (an election),” she noted.
She emphasised that PSM had been the only party which consistently campaigned for the betterment of the people, including by holding eight press conferences on issues affecting the rakyat.
Highlighting key issues
Expressing similar sentiments, PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan said the party had utilised the by-election to highlight several key issues concerning the plight of marginalised communities as well as matters on healthcare, environment, and housing.
“These issues outshone the issues raised by the ruling party and opposition, who focused on personality and race-based issues like pig farming,” he said in a statement.
He added that while its rivals had leveraged on its massive machinery and funds, PSM had been far from “pushovers” throughout the campaign period.
PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan“The BN-Pakatan Harapan coalition perhaps spent more money on a single dinner event than the entire money spent by PSM in this campaign. That is the margin of difference,” Arutchelvan said.
“Despite the odds, PSM and its partners managed to take them on on every front. We put out 3,000 red flags to fight the sea of blue.
“We put out banners on people’s issues, (which) made our opponents jittery as hundreds of PSM flags were taken down,” he added.
While BN successfully retained its hold on the state seat by handsomely beating PN, a deeper look at the numbers suggests that the Madani coalition should not be quick to rest on its laurels.
The data suggests that some Madani supporters - likely from Harapan’s non-Malay base - are beginning to buy into PSM’s positioning that it is the alternative for disgruntled Harapan voters.
As for PN, the by-election results could be taken as a sign that the opposition coalition’s attempts to garner votes through stoking Malay sentiments by playing up the pig farms issue in Ayer Kuning failed to gain traction. - Mkini

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