Jubilant Wahid vows to do his best

PAS candidate Abdul Wahid Endut who bagged the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat in a fierce battle against BN candidate Wan Ahmad Farid said today that he would perform to his best as the people's representative.

"God willing, I will do my best to perform my duties as the MP," said Abdul Wahid, who appeared speechless after his victory.

Abdul Wahid, who is also the Wakaf Mempelam state assemblyperson, added that he would be managing his "additional task as an MP with the assistance of an additional officer".

Immediately after the results were announced, PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim said the victory indicated that Malaysians are clamouring for change.

"The Kuala Terengganu voters today have chosen someone who they believe can work with the other Pakatan Rakyat MPs in realising the reform agenda," he said in a statement.

He added that the victory should also be a tonic for all Pakatan Rakyat leaders to work hard in achieving their aims for a better Malaysia.

With this win, the Anwar-led opposition now has 82 seats in Parliament. Barisan Nasional meanwhile has 137 seats and the remaining three seats are held by independents.

Jubilant PAS supporters

Abdul Wahid's victory was cause for jubilations among PAS supporters in the streets of Kuala Terengganu as they openly expressed their joy on hearing the result. This has led to vehicles in the city caught in a gridlock.

However, the day started with a sombre mood for them when the initial results indicated that it was BN who was in the lead.

But as the hours progressed and more ballot boxes were being tallied, it was quite evident that the night, and victory, would belong to PAS.

At about 9pm, with only two more voting streams to be announced, returning officer Wan Mustafa Hassan asked for the candidates to enter the hall for the official announcement.

Ten minutes later, Abdul Wahid accompanied by his party president Abdul Hadi Awang and deputy president Nasaruddin Mat Isa arrived at the hall.

However, both the BN candidate, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, and independent candidate Azhazudin Mamat were absent from the hall.

Outside, thousands of PAS supporters had gathered at the main road, watching the latest developments through large screens erected outside the stadium.

Quite a comfortable victory

Below are some immediate reactions from PAS leaders.

Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS president

The victory confirmed that our steadfast cooperation (within Pakatan) has improved compared to the past.

Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, PKR vice-president

For PAS and Pakatan Rakyat, the victory in Kuala Terengganu was very significant, especially for Pakatan's campaign to take over the federal government.

Mustafa Ali, Terengganu PAS Commissioner

This is quite a comfortable victory... it is a result of the combined effort of the opposition coalition as well as the acceptability of the candidate and the hard work of the party workers.

Compared to the results in 2004 and 2008, we today have clearly made inroads into Barisan's territory.