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e Battle of Bangi 205

Omar admitted that his entry into electoral politics was intended for national
impact, especially on Malay voters in the Klang Valley, acknowledging that
PAS supporters on the east coast were highly loyal to the party (interview, Nik
Omar, 23 May 2018).
In the end, PH’s Mazwan Johar defeated PAS’s Nushi Mahfodz and
UMNO’s Abdul Rahim in Sungai Ramal (see Table 10.1). PH won with
24,591 votes, PAS secured 13,961 votes (slightly under half its tally in GE13),
and UMNO only 9,372 votes (just over half its 2013 total)—PAS and UMNO
together won fewer votes than PH. PH won in all polling stations, including
those in overwhelmingly Malay Bandar Baru Bangi, where PAS has strong
in uence. ese results suggest that PH gained votes from anti-Najib UMNO
supporters. At the same time, PAS also lost almost all its non-Malay votes and
a signi cant portion of the Malay votes it had gained in GE13.

Table 10.1 Election results in Sungai Ramal (formerly Bangi) in 2018 and
2013

DUN Sungai Ramal 2018 2013
(formerly Bangi) Total voters: 54,961 Total voters: 53,268
Malays: 80% Chinese: 9% Malays: 66% Chinese: 19%
Indians: 10% Others: 1% Indians: 13% Others: 1%
BN-UMNO 9,372 (19%) 17,362 (37%)
PAS 13,961 (29%) 29,200 (62%)
PH 24,591 (51%) –
Spoilt 442 (1%) 454 (1%)
Total votes polled 48,366 47,016

A closer look at the polling station of Section 1 of Bandar Baru Bangi, in
which over 90 per cent of residents are Malay, clearly exempli es this change
in voting patterns. In GE13, PAS won 1,916 votes (about 63 per cent) and
UMNO 1,126 votes (37 per cent). In GE14, PH secured 1,378 votes (43 per
cent), PAS won 1,249 votes (39 per cent), and UMNO 572 votes (18 per cent)
in the same polling station. Polling stations across Bandar Baru Bangi saw
similar patterns; these tallies indicate that UMNO lost half its Malay votes and
PAS lost one-third to PH. Such a result might hint that a signi cant number
of Malay voters in Bangi now accept PH, especially Amanah, as an alternative
to PAS and UMNO. Nevertheless, PAS is not totally wiped out: it retained
around 30–40 per cent Malay support across Bangi. A few PAS members who
live in Bangi also voted for PAS in states such as Terengganu and Kelantan.

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