Melaka polls – the 8 seats to watch

[superadmin]

AYER KEROH: The Melaka state election is less than 24 hours away and many observers believe it is still too close to call the results especially with uncertainties over voter turnout amid the pandemic.

While the biggest question will be which of the three coalitions – Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Perikatan Nasional (PN) – will win the 15 seats needed to take over the state government, many will also be looking at some hot, highly-anticipated contests.

FMT takes a look at eight key seats up for grabs as analysts Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi and former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer Azmi Hassan weigh in on the likely winners.

TANJUNG BIDARA

The 94% Malay-majority seat will see a three-way battle between BN, PH and PN. This is probably THE battle to watch as it involves two heavyweights – Melaka BN chief Ab Rauf Yusof and PN’s chief minister-designate Mas Ermieyati Samsudin. PH will be represented by Zainal Hassan of PKR. Tanjung Bidara is an Umno stronghold and in the last general election (GE14), BN won the seat with a majority of over 2,800 votes.

Analysts verdict:
Unanimously BN to win
LENDU
Caretaker chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali won the Lendu seat with a thin majority of just 627 votes in a three-way contest against Bersatu and PAS in GE14. This time around, Bersatu and PAS are united in PN and their candidate Abdullah Mahadi will look to wrest the seat from Sulaiman. He will, however, have to fend off another challenger in PH’s Mohamad Asri Ibrahim, who is likely to get the bulk of the over 20% non-Malay votes.

Analysts verdict:
Oh: 50-50 between BN and PH
Awang Azman: BN
Azmi: Too close to call


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