PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan will review and present its performance in the Melaka polls to the coalition’s presidential council for further scrutiny, says Datuk Seri Adly Zahari.
“Pakatan accepts this decision openly and respects the mandate given by the people of Melaka,” the coalition’s state chairman said at a press conference yesterday.
Pakatan won only four seats in the Melaka assembly, down from the five it secured in the 2021 state polls.
He said a post-mortem would be conducted to examine the results.
Adly, who is also Amanah vice-president and Alor Gajah MP, said he had expected a difficult fight in Bukit Katil, where he had been trailing from the outset.
He said the cooperation between Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional had put him at a disadvantage, with early vote counts showing him trailing by about 5,000 to 6,000 votes.
“I was not surprised because I knew from the beginning that I was trailing by quite a distance.
“I tried to catch up over the 14 days, but there was not enough time,” he said.
Based on unofficial results, Perikatan candidate Muhammad Ridzuan Mohd Sarif won Bukit Katil with 14,851 votes, compared with Adly’s 8,382 votes.
Bersama candidate Aliza Che Amran garnered 1,070 votes, while Independent candidate Abu Bakar Sabudin received 127 votes.
Adly said he respected the decision of Bukit Katil voters, despite having previously served as their elected representative.
“I respect the people’s decision because they have their own right to make a choice,” he said.
On behalf of Pakatan’s election machinery, Adly thanked Melaka voters for fulfilling their democratic responsibility, as well as Election Commission personnel, security forces, media practitioners, and polling and counting agents.
Unofficial results showed Pakatan had won all four state seats contested by DAP – Kesidang, Ayer Keroh, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir.
PKR, meanwhile, put up another disappointing performance despite contesting the most seats for Pakatan, mirroring its showing in the state elections in Negri Sembilan, Johor and Sabah.
