MELAKA: Continuing the momentum from the Johor and Negri Sembilan elections, Barisan Nasional, with the support of Perikatan Nasional, has returned to power in Melaka after securing a landslide victory in the state election, according to unofficial results.
The consolidation of Malay support following the electoral cooperation between BN and PN helped the two coalitions secure 24 of the 28 seats contested, giving them more than a two-thirds majority in the state assembly.
BN won 21 seats, while PN secured three through its component parties, Pas (two) and Parti Wawasan Negara (one). The latter also won its first seat in the state assembly.
The BN-PN alliance’s first victory came when unofficial results showed that BN candidate Datuk Abdul Hakim Abdul Wahid had secured the Lendu seat with a majority of 5,752 votes.
Loud cheers and applause erupted at the Melaka International Trade Centre, which had been turned into BN’s election results viewing centre, when unofficial results showed caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ab Rauf Yusoh had retained the Tanjung Bidara seat for a second term.
Rauf, who is also Melaka BN chairman, secured a majority of 9,114 votes, a significant increase from the 364-vote majority he obtained in the 2021 state election.
Unofficial results showed that Rauf polled 10,293 votes to defeat Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Mohd Yunazri Mustamiri, who received 1,089 votes.
The jubilant atmosphere continued when unofficial results showed that Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh had retained the Merlimau seat, defeating PH candidate Rahayu Hamzah.
Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem, who has 1.5 million social media followers, also appeared to have translated his online popularity into electoral support by retaining the Duyong seat with a majority of 10,067 votes, according to unofficial results.
In the 2021 state election, Noor Helmy won the seat with a slim majority of 200 votes.
Another BN candidate, Datuk Khaidirah Abu Zahar, who was previously active in the entertainment industry, also retained the Rim seat in a straight fight against PH’s Esma Eazreen Husin.
The sole MIC candidate, S. Nadarajah, one of eight new faces fielded by BN in the election, helped the coalition retain the Gadek seat. Unofficial results showed that the Melaka MIC deputy chairman won with a majority of 3,497 votes.
Unofficial results also showed that Melaka MCA chairman Datuk Lim Ban Hong and his deputy, Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem, had retained the Klebang and Machap Jaya seats respectively.
As of 9pm, unofficial results showed that BN had also secured Kuala Linggi, Ayer Limau, Lendu, Taboh Naning, Rembia, Durian Tunggal, Asahan, Sungai Udang, Pantai Kundor, Ayer Molek and Telok Mas, among other seats.
PN also contributed to the alliance’s landslide victory when Pas candidate Muhammad Ridzuan Mohd Sarif pulled off a major upset by defeating PH’s Amanah vice-president and former Melaka chief minister Adly Zahari in a four-cornered contest in Bukit Katil.
In the 2021 state election, Adly, who is now the deputy defence minister, won the seat with a majority of 1,057 votes.
Pas scored another upset in Paya Rumput when its candidate, Rafie Ahmad, defeated PH candidate Datuk Azman Abidin, who is also the prime minister’s political secretary, in a three-cornered contest.
The seat was previously held by BN but was allocated to PN under the electoral cooperation agreement between the two coalitions for this election.
Parti Wawasan Negara won Bemban after its candidate, Dr Mohd Yadzil Yaakub, defeated three other challengers, including Dr Akmal’s brother, Dr Muhammad Solehin Saleh, who contested as a Bersama candidate.
In the previous state election, Dr Yadzil won the seat as a Bersatu candidate.
Bersatu, meanwhile, lost all the seats it contested in the election.
DAP retained all four seats it contested, namely Kesidang, Ayer Keroh, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir.
The BN-PN alliance’s return to power in Melaka became increasingly clear when Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced at about 8pm that the two coalitions had unofficially surpassed the simple-majority threshold of 15 seats needed to form the next state government.
About 20 minutes later, Asyraf announced that BN-PN had unofficially secured a two-thirds majority after winning 19 seats.
The election also recorded a higher voter turnout than the 2021 state election, when turnout stood at 65.85 per cent.
According to the Election Commission’s real-time Voter Turnout Monitoring dashboard, about 70 per cent of ordinary voters had cast their ballots by 6pm. Of the 28 state constituencies, Bandar Hilir recorded the lowest turnout at 57.7 per cent.
Political observers said the turnout reflected a strong mandate for the BN-PN alliance.