Post-mortem will be done on Rompin by-election: Najib

The Barisan Nasional (BN) will conduct a post-mortem on the Rompin by-election which the ruling coalition won by a reduced majority.

BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the post-mortem will take into account the issues raised in striving to do better in future elections.

"We admit Barisan Nasional's share of the votes dropped from 66.53 percent to 61 percent, although the winning majority was still at a comfortable level.

"We will analyse the results of the Rompin by-election this time and do a post-mortem so that going forward we can do better," he said.

Najib, who is also Prime Minister and UMNO president, said this in his latest entry in his blog www.najibrazak.com today.

Najib also thanked the voters in Rompin for their continued faith in the BN to bring about development and progress in the constituency.

"I am confident Datuk Hasan Arifin (the BN's candidate) will live up to the the expectations placed in him and serve the people just as well as the late Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis (who was the incumbent)," he said.

He also thanked the BN machinery headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who was the BN's coordinator for the by-election as well as Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakobm who was the prime mover of the machinery at the state

level.

In the by-election yesterday, the BN retained the parliamentary seat by a majority of 8,895 votes.

Hasan, 62, polled 23,796 votes while his opponent, PAS's Nazri Ahmad, 40, secured 14,901 votes.

The by-election was called following the death of Jamaluddin in a helicopter crash in Semenyih, Selangor on April 4.

In the 13th General Election held in May 2013, Jamaluddin retained the seat for his sixth term after defeating Dewan Muslimat PAS chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh by a majority of 15,114 votes.