PH secured just 8% of Malay vote in Negeri Sembilan
PETALING JAYA: After its crushing defeat in the Negeri Sembilan state election Pakatan Harapan (PH) must return to the political and institutional reform agenda that propelled it to power instead of relying on short-term electoral strategies, said former Bangi MP Dr Ong Kian Ming.
He said the coalition’s loss, which saw the Barisan Nasional (BN)- Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance secure a combined 25 of the state’s 36 seats, exposed the failure of PH’s efforts to regain Malay support and should serve as a wake-up call ahead of the 16th general election (GE16).
READ MORE: Negeri Sembilan defeat exposes PH’s confidence crisis ahead of GE16READ MORE: Anthony Loke resigns as Negeri Sembilan DAP chief“PH should go back to its roots of political and institutional reformation even if it is too late to fight against the BN-PN wave that is coming in GE16,” Ong said in his analysis of the election results.
BN won 18 seats in Saturday’s election, including two secured by MCA, while PN captured seven seats, comprising four won by PAS and three by Wawasan.
PH retained 11 seats, with DAP winning nine and PKR two.
The result also saw senior PH leaders Anthony Loke and former menteri besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun lose their state seats in Chennah and Linggi, respectively.
Ong said PH’s vote share fell to 39.7% from 44.4% in the 2022 general election while BN’s support rose to 35.2% from 22.2% recorded in the 2023 state election.
He attributed the BN-PN victory largely to the consolidation of Malay votes that had previously been split between the two coalitions.
“In a 57% Malay electorate state like Negeri Sembilan, where an estimated 80% of Malay voters supported BN or PN, this translates into an electoral advantage of slightly more than 7% for BN and PN candidates.”
Ong estimated that PH secured only about 8% of the Malay vote although more than 90% of Chinese voters who turned out continued to back the coalition.
He added that it was, however, insufficient to retain Chennah, which was won by MCA.
“Chennah was effectively a 40% Chinese seat with the 60% Malay and Orang Asli voters voting overwhelmingly for the BN-MCA candidate.”
Ong said PH’s support declined in 30 of the state’s 36 constituencies compared with the 2022 general election, indicating that the setback was more than just a transfer of votes between BN and PN.
He said PH’s strategy of courting Malay voters through short-term political manoeuvres had failed.
Ong urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the coalition’s leadership to instead prioritise reforms that formed PH’s founding agenda.
He added these include introducing a 10-year limit on the prime minister’s tenure, separating the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor, ensuring equal constituency allocations for government and opposition lawmakers as well as implementing fairer electoral boundary reforms.
Ong also questioned the appointment process for Election Commission chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun, saying it should have involved broader parliamentary consultation.
He said fair electoral boundary reforms, expected to begin this year and conclude by 2028, could strengthen PH’s prospects in future elections.
“Pushing for these reforms is the right thing for PH to do even if it ends up in the opposition post-GE16. The long-suffering PH supporters deserve as much.”
The Sun Malaysia