Melaka polls: PH must rethink political alignment to form next government, says Amirudin

KLANG – Pakatan Harapan (PH) must focus on developing a new political alignment as part of its strategy to form the government in the next election, says its election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

He said preliminary analysis of the 16th Melaka State Election showed encouraging signs, including an increase in Malay support for PH, although the gains were not yet sufficient to enable the coalition to form a government without broader political consensus.

"Yes, I have seen the preliminary analysis. There have been some fairly positive gains for PH, particularly an increase in Malay votes. However, it is not enough because this is not just about alliances or support for an alliance, but about how political alignments must be reconsidered to form a government.

"This increase represents a positive wave, and we (PH) believe there is still time to intensify and expand these efforts in the future for our collective success," he said.

Amirudin, who is also PKR vice-president, was quoted by Bernama after officiating the 2026 National Digital Education Carnival on Parental, Community and Private Sector Engagement (PIBKS) at Klang Parade Mall on Sunday (Nov 15).

Elaborating further, he said the country's current political landscape showed that forming a government no longer depended solely on cooperation between individual parties, but required consensus among political coalitions.

He said support for PH remained intact, with several constituencies recording gains, including Bukit Katil, where PH Melaka chairman Adly Zahari secured 8,698 votes in the latest election, compared with 6,805 in the 2021 state election, despite losing the seat.

Amirudin said the increase was consistent with a trend of growing Malay support for PH previously recorded in Negeri Sembilan.

Commenting on voter turnout, he said participation in the recent Melaka polls was higher than in the previous state election, although slightly lower than during the last general election.

"Regarding the recent voter turnout, I see that it was higher than in the previous state election, but slightly lower than in the last general election.

"There are actually many more aspects that we need to examine. Therefore, the entire party machinery must continue strengthening its grassroots operations and reassessing its communication strategies to ensure that the current momentum of support can translate into success in the future," he said.

The official results of the 16th Melaka State Election saw Barisan Nasional (BN) retain control of the state government after winning 21 of the 28 contested state seats.

PH won four seats, while Perikatan Nasional secured the remaining three.