Pakatan Harapan will not underestimate the strength of BN in Cameron Highlands in view of the upcoming parliamentary by-election, says Harapan secretariat chief Saifuddin Abdullah.

Saifuddin stated that this was because the Jan 26 by-election is the first to be held in a constituency won by BN in the 14th general election.

“This is also the first by-election to be held in a BN-led state. The last four by-elections were in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which are under Harapan-led governments.

"So, this time around, we anticipate a very interesting by-election,” he said after an event in Kuantan today.

Saifuddin, the foreign minister, said apart from giving attention to Orang Asli voters, Harapan would also focus on the fence-sitters, as they seemed to be likely to play a pivotal role in the by-election.

“Our concern for the Cameron Highlands by-election is voter turnout, as it was quite low in previous by-elections, but the election machinery of all Harapan component parties has agreed to work full time to ensure victory to the Harapan candidate,."

The by-election is being called after the Election Court on Oct 30 declared the election of MIC vice-president C Sivarraajh of BN in GE14 null and void because of corrupt practices to influence voters. 

Sivarraajh did not appeal the court decision.

The Election Commission set nomination for the polls on Jan 12, early voting on Jan 22 and polling on Jan 26.

Last Friday, Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Pahang DAP vice-chairperson M Manogaran as the Harapan candidate for the by-election.

- Bernama