KOTA BHARU: PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has admitted that the drastic drop in the majority votes obtained by the party in the Manik Urai by-election Tuesday was because the voters were influenced by Barisan Nasional's (BN) development promises.

The Kelantan Menteri Besar said this was the main factor that drew many voters to BN as the latter had spoken a lot on development for the upper Kelantan area.

"For instance, Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin himself had promised that BN would build a RM7 million bridge in Manik Urai if it wins the by-election," he said at a press conference at his office after chairing a state executive council meeting in Kota Darulnaim, here, Wednesday.

Hence, he said, a post-mortem would be conducted by the PAS top leaders to determine the real reasons for the party's slim-majority win in the state seat by-election.

Its candidate, fish wholesaler Mohd Fauzi Abdullah won by 65 votes compared to the incumbent assemblyman, the late Ismail Yaakob, 60, who obtained a 1,352-vote majority in the 2008 general election.

Mohd Fauzi garnered 5,348 votes while the BN candidate Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, a former Kesedar (South Kelantan Development Authority) officer, obtained 5,283 votes. The by-election was called following Ismail's death on May 22.

Nik Aziz said he was not surprised with the party's slim-majority win and accused BN of "political bribery", especially in the last few days of campaigning, by promising development for the area.

Although PAS has ruled Kelantan for 19 years, to Nik Aziz, the area is under the purview of Kesedar, a federal government agency.

So, logically, he said, developing Manik Urai was the responsibility of the BN-controlled federal government.

Meanwhile, he urged the federal government to build a new and wider road linking Kuala Krai Krai with Gua Musang as the existing road is narrow and accident-prone.

In PENANG, Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also admitted that the various incentives for the people announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had swung many votes to the BN, hence PAS' slim-majority win in the by-election.

He said since becoming prime minister, Najib had made several announcements which brought cheer to the people.

"This gave BN and Umno the edge, but we should also ask why BN still failed to win in Manik Urai," he told reporters.

Besides that, he said, the rift in PAS over the proposed unity government with Umno had also caused confusion among voters, which gave Umno an advantage.

Lim said another factor was the problem in Selangor following Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman Mohamed Azmin Ali's call for a reshuffle of the state executive council.

"This has given an unhealthy picture of the opposition pact, that there are cracks not just among the partners and also within the respective parties," he said. (Bernama)