Substantive swings produced two key by-election victories for the Barisan Nasional tonight.
BN has now won three of the four of by-elections this year, losing Sibu by 398 votes.
In Kelantan, BN wrested the Galas State seat from Pas by a majority of 1,190 - improving its near-victory in the July 2009 Manik Urai by-election when the coalition lost by 65 votes.
BN shall now look to repeat the kind of performance it produced in the 2004 general election when it won 21 state seats in Kelantan. As for now, Galas brings its state seats to 7 in a 45-seat Legislative Assembly.
The Galas by-election was called following the death of Pas' Che Hashim Sulaima, 46, on Sept 27 from colon cancer. Che Sulaima had defeated BN's Mohd Saufi Deraman by a 646 vote-majority in th March 2008 general election.
In the 2004 general election, Che Hashim had lost to Mohamad Saufi, by 1,729 votes.
Significantly for Kelantan politics, the Galas battle had been billed as contest between BN’s Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Kelantan Menteri Besar and Pas spiritual leader.
Analysts had said that a Pas defeat would be seen as a sign of Nik Aziz losing grip. He is 79 and had been Menteri Besar since 1990.
“The face to face interaction adopted by BN has worked..this is a indicator of how BN can change,” Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia told the New Straits Times tonight.
Pas had during the campaigning mocked Abdul Aziz Yusoff, the BN candidate for his lack of qualification. Dr Zulkefli Mohamed of Pas now has to his name three unsuccessful attempts to win seats in the Gua Musang area.
The results of the nation's 12th by election since March 2008 were announced by returning officer Wan Mustapa Abdul Hamid at the Gua Musang Civic Centre here tonight.
Many of Chinese voters in Galas had returned to BN, according to preliminary analysis of the results.
Pas lost in Kampung Baru, which is a Chinese majority area by 41 votes. It garnered more than 200 over votes there in the general election.
The BN election machinery which was led by Tengku Razaleigh, the Gua Musang MP, had adopted a new campaign strategy this time where they focused on a more personal approach as opposed to big scale ceramah and large entourages.
Election Commission deputy chairman, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said voter turnout was 82.71 per cent or 9,555 of the total 11,553 voters in the constituency, compared to a 80.57 per cent turnout in 2008.
In Batu Sapi, the choice of a woman as a candidate and the joint-leadership of Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan of Parti Bersatu Sabah had contributed to the increase of majority from 3,708 (2008 general election) to 6,359, analysts said.
“My husband is watching me now and I think he is proud of me,” said the BN candidate, Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin.
Tsen’s husband Datuk Edmund Chong was the late parliamentarian of Batu Sapi. His death on Oct 9 had led to the by-election.
