MELAKA – Barisan Nasional (BN) incumbent Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem won the Duyong state seat (N21) with a majority of 10,040 votes in the 16th Melaka state election today, according to official results from the Election Commission (EC).
Helmy polled 15,067 votes, or 75.0 per cent of the 20,094 cast. DAP’s Poo Long Suan of Pakatan Harapan (PH) received 5,027 votes (25.0 per cent) in a straight fight.
The result is a dramatic turnaround from 2021, when Helmy wrested the seat from DAP’s Damian Yeo Shen Li by a 200-vote majority in a three-cornered contest.
He polled 4,684 votes that year (38.55 per cent) against Yeo’s 4,484 and 2,874 for Perikatan Nasional (PN). This time his vote more than tripled, while Poo’s was higher than Yeo’s 2021 tally.
Helmy, 45, is Umno Kota Melaka division information chief and was deputy state executive councillor for science, technology, innovation and digital communications.
He is popularly known as “YB Duyong” and is regarded as one of BN’s social media stars. He was cited in local political commentary as Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ab Rauf Yusoh’s “poster boy” for outreach to Chinese voters.
He went into the contest banking on his five-year record.
At nomination he was accompanied by Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and supported by longtime local backers including an elderly resident known as “Uncle Wong”.
Helmy acknowledged he faced a tough challenge from Poo.
Yeo, a former Melaka DAP chairman, has publicly described Helmy as “a good person” and said he believed Helmy could one day lead Melaka as chief minister.
Duyong’s electorate grew from 18,237 in 2021 to 26,528 for these polls, according to EC data. The seat was created in 1994 and first contested in 1995.