NewzDAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook's defeat in Chennah was among the biggest upsets in the Negeri Sembilan state election.PETALING JAYA: Two DAP state chapters have rallied behind secretary-general Loke Siew Fook, backing him to remain as the party's Negeri Sembilan chairman and continue leading it nationally despite his defeat in Chennah in the state election yesterday.The Negeri Sembilan chapter said Loke should not be held responsible for the party’s defeats in two seats which the party had won in the last state polls, namely Chennah and Repah.Meanwhile, Selangor DAP said his continued leadership was vital to maintaining stability and restoring public confidence in Pakatan Harapan.Cha Kee Chin.Negeri Sembilan DAP secretary Cha Kee Chin said the state committee was unanimous in wanting Loke to continue leading the chapter."Loke's leadership has been proven and recognised as the best in Negeri Sembilan DAP's history," he said in a Facebook post today."From having just two seats in 2004, he has led the state chapter to become a party respected by both allies and opponents."The Rasah MP also said the state chapter would need Loke’s leadership to navigate future political challenges and prepare for the 16th general election after Pakatan Harapan lost its majority in the Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly.He said an initial analysis of the election results showed that PH and DAP candidates continued to enjoy strong support from their supporters despite what he described as the opposition’s racial rhetoric in the election campaign.DAP retained nine of its 11 seats in the state election, while Chennah and Repah fell to Barisan Nasional’s MCA.Loke’s defeat in Chennah was among the biggest upsets of yesterday’s election. He lost the seat he had held since 2013 to MCA's Siow Kong Choon by a 688-vote majority.PH also saw its number of seats fall from 17 to 11, with PKR winning the other two seats for the coalition. Amanah won none.Ng Sze Han.Meanwhile, Selangor DAP chairman Ng Sze Han said the state chapter would stand firmly with its Negeri Sembilan counterpart and work with the party’s central leadership to assess the results and identify areas for improvement.Ng said the contest in Chennah had been particularly intense and praised Loke for taking responsibility by personally defending the seat.“Loke demonstrated the credibility of a leader who was willing to …
BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he expects the electoral pact with PN to continue in Melaka, which is due to hold its state election later this year.PETALING JAYA: The dust has settled following the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election, in which Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional rode an informal seat-sharing pact to a two-thirds majority.The heaviest losses were suffered by Pakatan Harapan, which fell from 17 seats to 11. Bersatu, which contested independently despite remaining a PN component party, suffered a complete defeat, losing all 24 seats it contested.FMT takes a look at the biggest winners and losers in the Negeri Sembilan polls:Winners - Zahid and BNFresh off a landslide victory in the Johor election last month, BN has now gone on to wrest Negeri Sembilan from PH, with whom it had shared power since 2022 at the federal level and 2023 at the state level.BN entered the polls with 14 seats from the previous election, when it combined with PH’s 17 seats to form the state government. Three years later, it has emerged as the largest bloc in the new administration, winning 18 seats through its electoral understanding with PN.MCA also has much to celebrate after wresting two DAP-held seats, taking Chennah from DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook by a slim 688-vote margin, and Repah from two-term incumbent S Veerapan.But above all, Zahid’s gamble also appears to have paid off.
Despite facing criticism, accusations and warnings over the BN-PN pact, the BN chairman doubled down on the alliance and was highly visible throughout the campaign, effectively becoming its face on the ground.The resulting victory strengthens his standing within Umno and gives BN greater leverage in its dealings with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and PH at the federal level.Although BN has said it will remain in the unity government until the end of the current parliamentary term, a convincing victory could strengthen its bargaining power within the unity government and fuel speculation over whether it may reassess its position if cooperation with PN proves electorally successful.Losers - PH and PKRThird time was not the charm for PH, which suffered another disappointing result following a near-wipeout in Sabah last November and its resounding defeat in Johor last month.PH failed to withstand the BN-PN momentum and struggled to convince voters despite campaigning on its reco…
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