Melaka polls test PN alliances as BN pact, ‘PH Plus’ talks expected to take shape

THE Melaka state election is set to test a rapidly shifting web of political alliances, with Perikatan Nasional (PN) facing competing demands within its own ranks while Barisan Nasional (BN) weighs an electoral pact with the opposition coalition and Pakatan Harapan (PH) explores a separate arrangement involving Bersatu.

The dissolution of the 15th Melaka Legislative Assembly has brought the competing alliance calculations into sharper focus, following BN-PN cooperation in the recent Negeri Sembilan state election and signs of coordination between the two blocs in Johor.

Whether that cooperation can be translated into a formal electoral understanding in Melaka remains unresolved.

BN Melaka chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh has said the coalition is open to negotiations with other parties, while stressing that talks do not necessarily have to result in an agreement.

PN, meanwhile, has signalled that it could contest all 28 seats if negotiations with BN fail.

Wawasan vice-president Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik said there was still room for a BN-PN agreement, but his party specifically wanted the Bemban and Sungai Udang state seats regardless of whether such an agreement was reached.

That position adds to the internal negotiations within PN, where Wawasan, PAS and Bersatu have different interests in determining the coalition’s candidates and seat allocation.

Wawasan’s claim to Bemban and Sungai Udang is particularly significant as the two seats were previously won by Bersatu candidates, who subsequently joined Wawasan.

At the same time, Bersatu’s position has acquired an additional dimension after PH Melaka confirmed it was negotiating with the party as part of a proposed “PH Plus” arrangement for the state election.

PH Melaka chairman Adly Zahari said the negotiations with Bersatu were being conducted following decisions by the PH Presidential Council, but any cooperation would only be announced after the talks were completed.

PH election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari subsequently said any PH Plus arrangement was more likely to take the form of an electoral understanding rather than a new political coalition because of the limited time available before the election.

PH has also completed its internal seat distribution among PKR, Amanah and DAP, with Amanah allocated eight seats, according to Adly. No negotiations with BN had been held at that point.

The competing negotiations mark a significant shift from the 2021 election, when BN won 21 of the 28 seats, while PH secured five and PN two.

The political landscape has since changed further with Wawasan emerging as a PN component and the movement of the Bemban and Sungai Udang representatives from Bersatu to the party.

The recent BN-PN cooperation in Negeri Sembilan has also added a new reference point for Melaka. BN won 18 seats and PN seven in the Aug 1 election, allowing the two blocs to form the state government together.

CNA previously reported that BN and PN were expected to begin discussions on an electoral pact for Melaka following their Negeri Sembilan victory, with analysts identifying seat negotiations and the management of the two coalitions’ grassroots as key issues.

For PN, the immediate challenge is therefore twofold: determining whether it can reach an electoral understanding with BN while reconciling the competing interests of its component parties.

Bersatu’s position adds another layer to the equation, given its continuing place within PN and its separate negotiations with PH over a possible electoral arrangement.

The election will consequently be shaped not only by the number of seats each party seeks to contest, but by whether the emerging alliances consolidate into formal pacts or leave parties to fight separately across the 28 constituencies.

With the assembly dissolved, attention now turns to the negotiations over alliances, seat allocation and candidates — particularly the competing political calculations involving BN, PN, Wawasan, PAS, Bersatu and PH. - September 23, 2026