BN-PN pact rides blue wave to 24-seat sweep

 After slim margins in multiple seats in 2021, the alliance came through with easy victories this time, thanks to the unification of Malay votes.

The BN-PN alliance secured a supermajority by winning 24 of the 28 state assembly seats, well over the 19-seat threshold.

PETALING JAYA:

The “blue wave” has swept through Melaka, with cooperation between Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional securing victory tonight in 24 of the 28 state assembly seats.

BN emerged as the dominant force, comfortably bagging 21 seats, while PN chipped in three more to give the alliance a commanding grip on the state legislative assembly.

With 19 seats needed for a two-thirds majority, the alliance has secured a supermajority.

Pakatan Harapan won only four of the 24 seats it contested – retaining its four DAP-held seats while losing Bukit Katil to PAS – while Bersatu failed to win any seat. Bersama also came away empty-handed, losing all its 16 contests, while Ibrahim Ali-led Putra lost in Gadek, the only seat it contested.

The BN-PN alliance appeared to produce a consolidation of Malay votes once again, as witnessed in the Negeri Sembilan polls in August, with much easier victories compared to several close contests at the 2021 state election.

BN and PN won 13 seats in 2021 with majorities of under 1,000 votes, but there were more one-sided victories today with majorities in the thousands including Malay-majority seats such as Serkam and Tanjung Bidara, where BN had previously won by just 79 and 364 votes respectively.

This time, the Umno-led coalition defended both seats with vote majorities of over 10,000, as PH’s candidates were left straggling.

The Malay unity alliance also secured comfortable victories in the mixed seats of Pengkalan Batu and Duyong, where they previously won by just 131 and 200 votes respectively.

In the 2021 Melaka polls, BN secured a two-thirds majority after winning 21 seats. Lendu assemblyman Sulaiman Ali was sworn in as chief minister for another term, but resigned in March 2023 to allow state Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh to take over.

Melaka has long been regarded as an Umno stronghold; the party had held the chief minister’s post until 2018 when PH wrested control of the state in a general election that resulted in BN being ousted from the federal government.

However, BN regained the post after the Sheraton Move in February 2020, when Bersatu broke away from the PH government to form a coalition with MPs from PKR and Umno. - FMT