SHAH ALAM – Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Kerk Chee Yee retained the Ayer Keroh state seat with a majority of 5,604 votes in the 16th Melaka state election, today.
Kerk polled 14,078 votes, defeating his closest rival, Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Michael Gan, who received 8,474 votes.
Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) candidate Muhaimin Lau, also known as Alan Lau, secured 1,932 votes, while Mohd Hamnaim Mohamad of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) received 1,077 votes.
The result gave Kerk a lead of 5,604 votes over Gan, securing PH's victory in the constituency.
However, PH's victory in Ayer Keroh came amid a wider setback for the coalition, which secured only four of the 28 state seats contested.
The other three constituencies won by PH were Kesidang, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir, all represented by DAP candidates.
BN, meanwhile, won 21 seats, while PN secured three, giving the two coalitions a combined 24 seats and a two-thirds majority in the State Legislative Assembly.
The outcome marked a change from the previous Melaka state election in 2021, when BN won 21 seats, PH secured five and PN took the remaining two.
A total of 79 candidates contested the 28 seats in this year's election, with PH fielding candidates in 24 constituencies and BN in 23.