The upcoming state poll is not really about Melaka. It is a testbed where Malaysia’s warring political parties will experiment with new alliances that are set to determine the shape of the next general election, writes CNA’s Leslie Lopez.
Melaka Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh (with spectacles) and Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (centre) on the campaign trail in the upcoming Melaka state election where the UMNO-led coalition is widely considered to be front-runners. (Photo: Facebook/Ab Rauf Yusoh)
KUALA LUMPUR: For one of Malaysia’s smallest states, Melaka has been punching well above its weight in the country’s drawn-out political chaos.
Following the 2018 general election, two state administrations collapsed in one term.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration headed by then chief minister Adly Zahari fell in March 2020, weeks after the so-called Sheraton Move – the hotel-suite coup in which defecting Members of Parliament (MPs) toppled the PH federal government led by Mahathir Mohamad.
The incoming Barisan Nasional (BN) administration was itself later toppled in October 2021 when four assemblymen withdrew support. The snap state election that followed in November produced pitched three-way contests for the dominant ethnic Malay vote, in which BN prevailed. Thirteen of the state’s 28 state assembly seats were won by under one thousand votes.