As expected, BN wins handsomely in the stronghold areas of Merlimau (Malacca) and Kerdau (Pahang).<\/p>\n
In Merlimau, PAS candidate\u00a0Yuhaizat Abdullah got 2,319 votes, while BN’s Roslan got 5,962 voters. Voter turnout was\u00a079 per cent of the 10,679 voters and majority was 3,643 votes. This is an improvement from the previous majority, 2.615 votes.<\/p>\n
In Kerdau, \u00a0BN candidate\u00a0Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad defeated PAS\u2019s Hassanuddin Salim by 4,960 votes to 2,336. This is an\u00a0increased majority of 2,724 compared to 1,615-vote majority in 2008. Its even better than the 2004 GE results (2,565). \u00a0Voter turnout was\u00a083 per cent of the 8,999 voters.<\/p>\n
I’m not aware of the Indian votes (298 in Kerdau and 1,567 in Merlimau), but can be rest assured that most of the votes would have gone to BN. More so after PAS in Kelantan decided to ban lottery tickets<\/a><\/strong>. That surely chased away any “pity” votes the non-Muslim may have thought of giving. In the end, it was a walk in park for BN.<\/p>\n As an indication, the Chinese votes in Kerdau polling district, the only area with a substantial Chinese presence, saw BN \u00a0getting 428 \u00a0votes while PAS got 216. In previous election, BN won the district with a thin majority of 37.<\/p>\n Oh yeah, as usual, there were calls of vote-buying, election goodies etc., but I think in these areas it would not have made much difference.<\/p>\n