Melaka election: a variety of reasons for success and failures – Terence Fernandez

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IS THE Melaka election result an accurate barometer of what is to come for the players in the 15th General Election (GE15)?

Is Pakatan Harapan (PH) a spent force – having captured the state in 2018 with 15 seats but only managed five this time around?

Are the people of Melaka voting along racial lines as Malay-based party Umno dominated this time around taking 18 seats, while its Barisan Nasional (BN) partners, MCA and MIC, took two seats and one seat respectively?

Is DAP, which has been a formidable party in Melaka, losing its influence having managed to win only four of the eight seats it contested – all eight being incumbent constituencies?

What does it mean for the future of Perikatan Nasional (PN), which managed to hang on by the skin of its teeth – winning just two of the 28 seats it contested?

Why is PAS rejected by Melakans? When would conservative voters be drawn to the Islamist party’s agenda?

Is it time for PKR to rethink its strategy having been wiped out from all the seats it contested as PH?

Is the election result an indication of a split in the Malay votes? As Malay voters split their loyalties between Umno and Bersatu?

These are certainly food for thought as victor and vanquished take stock of last night’s results – one in celebration, the other licking its wounds.

A low voter turnout is always in BN’s favour as hardened grassroots and loyalists reliably go out come hell or high water to cast their ballots.

Despite the pandemic, a 65.85% turnout exceeded earlier estimates of 55%.

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