TRONOH: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Barisan Nasional (BN) need not be disappointed with the result of the Manik Urai by-election.

Muhyiddin said though BN lost, the result showed a significant and positive increase in support for BN.

"I believe the people are aware of the values in the leadership of the Prime Minister and the changes that the country has already undergone," he told reporters after opening the 52nd national-level Quran Reciters' Assembly at the Dewan Canselor, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, here, Tuesday night (14 July).

Muhyiddin said the result will inspire him and his colleagues in BN to work harder and bring about winds of change in the future.

He added that a post-mortem would be conducted as usual to study and analyse details and what BN need to do to improve.

The Deputy Prime Minister also denied that BN's defeat in Manik Urai as a sign that voters had rejected the political changes and development that BN had brought about.

Muhyiddin also congratulated PAS for the victory and thanked Kelantan BN election director Datuk Mustapa Mohamed and the entire BN election machinery for their hard work to ensure BN's victory.

PAS retained the Manik Urai state seat after its candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah defeated BN's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat by a narrow margin of 65 votes.

Mohd Fauzi, 50, polled 5,348 votes while Tuan Aziz, 39, obtained 5,283 votes but the victory was a far cry from the party's 1,352-vote majority it obtained in the 2008 general election.

The result was announced by Returning Officer Adnan Hussin at the Dewan Petra, SMK Sultan Yahya Petra 1, here at 9.05 p.m. (Bernama)