Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will contest three Melaka constituencies on Nov. 14, amid talks on possible electoral cooperation.
The Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) confirmed 79 candidates for the state assembly’s 28 seats after nominations closed Oct. 31. PH is contesting 24 seats, Barisan Nasional 23, Parti Bersama Malaysia 16, Bersatu seven, Perikatan Nasional five and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia one. Three independents are also running.
The final candidate list shows PH-Bersatu matchups in Kelebang, Pengkalan Batu and Ayer Keroh. Bersatu’s Datuk Seri Mohamad Ali Mohamad will face PH’s Farzana Hayani Mohd Nasir in Kelebang. In Pengkalan Batu, Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee faces Jason Tze-Xi Nathan; in Ayer Keroh, Mohd Hamnaim Mohamad faces Kerk Chee Yee.
Bersatu announced Oct. 29 that Mohd Zamri Abu Bakar would run in Gadek, but the final EC list has no Bersatu nominee there. The party’s final slate has seven candidates.
Malay Mail reported that PH and Bersatu had discussed electoral cooperation since September but had not formed a fully coordinated pact by nomination day. Professor Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Strategic Research Academy, told the outlet that PH may be assessing whether Bersatu could help its Democratic Action Party (DAP) candidates attract more Malay voters.
Political scientist Syaza Shukri, cited by CNA, questioned how many Malay voters Bersatu could bring to PH and said cooperation could cost the party support among its own base. CNA also linked some resistance to the 2020 Sheraton Move, when Bersatu left PH and the federal government led by Mahathir Mohamad fell.
The talks predated a separate confidence and supply agreement signed Oct. 29, under which Bersatu lawmakers and other MPs pledged to support Malaysia’s 2027 budget. Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin told Free Malaysia Today the parliamentary arrangement was separate from any election pact with PH. EconoTimes previously covered the parliamentary support agreement.
In the 2021 Melaka election, Barisan Nasional won 21 of 28 seats, PH five and Perikatan Nasional two. The EC said 687,697 people are eligible to vote in this election. Early voting is set for Nov. 10, followed by polling on Nov. 14.
