KUALA LUMPUR: An Umno Supreme Council member has told the unity government to stop making excuses and accept the outcome of the Sungai Bakap by-election in Penang, which concluded yesterday with the opposition retaining the seat.
Datuk Dr. Puad Zarkashi said the by-election result is a clear signal of the trust deficit between the federal administration and the people, who are unhappy with the government's performance.
"Just accept the defeat in Sungai Bakap. Let's not make excuses or try to identify a 'formula' for why we lost (the by-election)," he said in a statement on his Facebook post.
Puad, who is also Johor Speaker, pointed out that the momentum of the unity government's victory during the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election in Selangor has fizzled out.
This, he said, is due to a number of decisions and actions implemented by the federal government after the May 11 by-election, which have given the opposition 'bola tanggung' (easy shots) that were used as campaign fodder in Sungai Bakap.
"Do not get carried away after winning the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election. Do not hastily pull a surprise. Do not ignore the concerns of the people.
"Remove those (members of the Cabinet) who do not perform," he said.
He also said that supporters of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak may hesitate to back parties aligned to the unity coalition so long as they feel he has been denied his rights and a fair trial.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) retained Sungai Bakap after its candidate Abidin Ismail won the seat with a majority of 4,267 votes in a straight fight against Pakatan Harapan's Dr Joohari Ariffin.
Abidin polled 14,489 votes while Joohari Ariffin received 10,222 votes.