When Melaka goes to the polls again on Saturday (Nov 14), the factors that produced the earlier havoc will no longer be in play.
The BN coalition, led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, currently dominated by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), are campaigning as allies in a seat-sharing pact.
The PH coalition, on the other hand, appears to have an informal arrangement with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), the party behind the Sheraton Move that brought down the PH government in the first place.
In the coming days, all eyes will be on Melaka, especially at the administrative capital of Putrajaya, where strains between the components of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Unity Government are being discussed openly in coffeeshops and the corridors of Parliament.
FULL DRESS REHEARSAL
Melaka’s Saturday election has drawn 79 candidates into 11 straight fights, 11 three-cornered contests and six in four-cornered brawls for the 28 seats.
At stake is not just who will control the Melaka state government. The state has become the stage for a full dress rehearsal to Malaysia’s 16th general election, which is due sometime in early 2028 but widely expected in the next 12 months.
The headline experiment is the UMNO-PAS axis operating under the BN-PN banner. After knifing each other in previous electoral contests for the Malay vote, the BN coalition will contest in 23 seats, with UMNO running in 18 of them, and the PN coalition in five. There is zero overlap.
