Jamilah’s landslide win a ‘thank you’ to Adenan, says party
She won even more votes than her husband ever did.
PETALING JAYA: Jamilah Anu’s landslide victory in yesterday’s Tanjung Datu by-election was the constituents’ way of saying “thank you” to her late husband, former Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem, said a senior PBB leader.
Speaking to FMT, PBB supreme council member Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah congratulated Jamilah who contested the seat previously held by Adenan until his death last month.
Adenan was Tanjong Datu’s elected representative for more than nine years, having first won the seat in the ninth Sarawak state election in May 2006.
“The big win is also a clear manifestation and endorsement of Tanjung Datu voters towards Sarawak BN,” Karim said.
He added that although BN knew they would win the seat, what wasn’t expected was the margin of victory, with BN getting 96.5% of the votes.
Karim added that Jamilah’s victory was also a good sign as the three main racial groups in the constituency – the Malays, Dayak and Chinese – all voted for BN.
Meanwhile, Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong said he was sure that Jamilah, like Adenan, would be a moderate and open leader.
In a statement, he said Jamilah’s victory showed that voters had confidence that Jamilah would carry out Adenan’s struggles and aspirations.
“The bigger mandate BN received shows that the people of Tanjung Datu acknowledge the efforts and contributions of the BN leadership to develop Tanjung Datu and Sarawak.”
Yesterday, PBB’s Jamilah won the Tanjung Datu seat in a three-way contest with Sarawak Reform Party (STAR)’s Johnny Aput and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru’s (PBDS Baru) Rapelson Richard Hamit,
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram
Jamilah won with a 6,443-vote majority, 551 votes more than what Adenan got in the state election in May last year, while Johnny and Rapelson only received 108 and 130 votes each.