HULU SELANGOR, May 11 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) retained the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) state seat when its candidate Pang Sock Tao won the by-election today with a majority of 3,869 votes.

The former press secretary to the Housing and Local Government Minister polled 14,000 votes to beat Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Khairul Azhari Saut, who obtained 10,131 votes, Independent Nyau Ke Xin (188 votes) and Parti Rakyat Malaysia’s (PRM) Hafizah Zainuddin (152 votes).

The results were announced by returning officer Yuhanas Auree Kamaruddin at the vote-tallying centre at the Hulu Selangor Multi-Purpose Hall and District Sports Complex here tonight.

Hafizah and Nyau lost their deposits for obtaining fewer than one-eighth of the votes cast in the by-election.

Yuhanas Auree expressed his appreciation to all parties involved in the polls.

A total of 40,226 electors were eligible to vote in the by-election, including 625 police personnel, 238 military personnel and their spouses, as well as one overseas absentee voter.

The voter turnout was 61.51 per cent.

Pang, 31, in a white shirt and black pants, arrived at the hall at 9.44 pm, accompanied by Selangor PH chairman and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

The seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Lee Kee Hiong, 58, of DAP on March 21 due to cancer.

In the state election in August last year, Lee defeated three challengers from PN, PRM and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) with a majority of 4,119 votes.

The victory registered by Pang, representing the Unity Government, means the KKB seat has been a PH stronghold since 2013.

Pang is an electrical and electronic engineering graduate of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN).

The by-election is the seventh to be held after the 15th general election in 2022. — Bernama