In last decade, Anwar leading cause for by-elections after cancer, heart attack
(MMO) – The announcement yesterday that the Port Dickson federal seat will be vacated for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to contest has cemented his position as among the most regular reasons for a by-election.
Malaysia went through an unusual 32 by-elections since the 2008 general election and the 33rd is now on the way.
Of these, 13 were for federal seats, or around 40 per cent.
The top two leading triggers for the 33 by-elections have been deaths caused by cancer in its various forms (nine cases) and heart attack (eight cases).
The latter is the principal cause of death for Malaysians, especially men, involving 13.2 per cent of deaths in 2016, according to the most recent data by the Department of Statistics.
Beyond the two, Anwar is arguably the next most frequent trigger for by-elections in the last decade, affecting four of such polls.