Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) decision to give Bersatu the Bemban seat in the Nov 14 Melaka state election was influenced by electoral considerations, particularly Bersatu’s stronger appeal among Malay voters in the constituency, an analyst says.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said DAP had finished a distant third in Bemban in the previous state election, behind MCA and eventual winner Bersatu.
He said Bersatu was hoping to reclaim the seat from former assemblyman Yadzil Yaakub, who won it in 2021 before defecting to Wawasan.
“That is the strategic reason why PH is giving way to Bersatu in this case. Bersatu hopes to draw Malay votes there to cause an upset,” he told FMT.
Azmi said the arrangement could help PH reach Malay voters who might otherwise be difficult for the coalition to attract.
“If DAP contests there, Malay votes will be very hard to come by,” he said.
However, he said it remained uncertain whether PH would benefit politically from cooperating with Bersatu, given the latter’s role in the Sheraton Move, which led to the collapse of the PH government in 2020.
Bemban deal to gauge grassroots response
James Chin of the University of Tasmania said the arrangement would also allow PH leaders to gauge grassroots sentiment towards an alliance with Bersatu before deciding whether to pursue wider cooperation.
“If the supporters don’t create huge problems, then they will know they can go ahead with cooperating with Bersatu in GE16,” he said.
Chin said resentment over the Sheraton Move remained strong among PH supporters, many of whom continued to hold Bersatu responsible for the collapse of the coalition’s previous government.
However, he said the arrangement was unlikely to affect relations within PH, as DAP leaders had agreed to allow Bersatu to contest the seat.
He added that any opposition to the arrangement was likely to remain localised and would not affect cooperation within the broader coalition.
PH leaders urge parties to respect decision
On Oct 28, PH election director Amirudin Shari urged all component parties to respect the coalition’s collective decision to allow Bersatu to contest Bemban in the Nov 14 Melaka state election.
The Selangor menteri besar said the decision was based on an understanding between PH and Bersatu and had been made collectively.
The arrangement drew objections from former Melaka DAP chairman Damian Yeo, who said he would rather leave politics than support the move, citing what he described as Bersatu’s “past betrayals”.
DAP grassroots members in Bemban also expressed disappointment that the party had not been nominated to contest the seat, particularly given their longstanding efforts to build support for the coalition in the constituency.
