The Malaysian Insight

AN overconfident Umno may just allow Pakatan Harapan (PH) to sneak in and snatch victory in Malacca, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke said.

He said although Umno was showing signs of being overconfident over winning the elections this Saturday, he is not giving up on PH pulling off the unexpected like they did in 2018.

“It would be a good turning point for us if we win,” Loke told The Malaysian Insight.

“Umno’s overconfidence is certainly good for PH.

“We are not running in this election to be an opposition party. PH is in a good position to govern.

“If I say we are running for power in Kelantan, then you can accuse me of being unrealistic. However, in Malacca it’s possible because, in the last elections, we actually won,” the Seremban MP said.

He, however, said a PH win would not end the political chaos plaguing the state but would be a barometer of what the next general election could be like.

“The past year, culminating in the Sheraton coup, has been a disappointment to a lot of people in Malacca, particularly among our supporters.

“They have been asking: Do we have a chance for the next one?

“The loss of Sabah (in last year’s state election) added to their misery.

“If we can turn our fortunes around in Malacca and we can form the state government, then PH would be in a very strong position for the next general election,” Loke said.

PH is facing multi-cornered fights in all 28 state seats, with challenges from Umno-led Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.

PH won the state for the first time in GE14. However, a series of political maneuvering saw Umno come back to power as a partner of the Perikatan Nasional coalition during the Sheraton Move in May 2020.

The Umno-led state government, however, fell apart on October 4 when four members of the assembly, who had previously supported incumbent Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali, withdrew their support citing loss of confidence in him, triggering this election.

In the Malacca elections, Umno is also facing a fight from its federal allies Bersatu and PAS.

Loke said the battle to win Malacca would be tough as both BN and PN are no pushovers.

He said they were flush with funds and had the resources to run a successful election.

Tricky fight in four seats for DAP

In GE14, DAP won all the eight states it was allocated – Bandar Hilir, Kota Laksamana, Kesidang, Duyong, Bemban, Gadek, Pengkalan Batu and Ayer Keroh.

Loke said DAP must retain all eight seats if they are to make any worthwhile contribution to the PH cause.

He said if DAP could retain the eight seats, and with PKR delivering their seats, PH would surely win.

“As long as we have more than 15 seats, we win.”

However, Loke said, of the eight seats, winning four of them – Bemban, Pengkalan Batu, Gadek, Duyong – would be tricky as they are all Malay-majority seats.

He said Bemban and Gadek are key seats to retain as a failure would make it much harder for PH to return to power.

Kota Laksamana, Bandar Hilir, Ayer Keroh and Kesidang are considered “safe” as they are traditional DAP state seats.

With the exception of Bandar Hilir, which will have a new face in Leng Chau Yen, the other three will be defended by their incumbents – Kota Laksamana (Low Chee Leong), Ayer Keroh (Kerk Chee Yee), Kesidang (Allex Seah Shoo Chin). – November 19, 2021.