KUALA LUMPUR - Defeat for former premier Mahathir Mohamad's new party at Saturday's Slim by-election was expected, but of great concern to the opposition will be the evaporation of previously fervent non-Malay support.

This was Umno's third straight by-election win since the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) was toppled in February, but significantly the first where it gained the support of voters who are not bumiputeras - a term used to jointly refer to the Malay Muslim majority and indigenous tribes.