MELAKA (Nov 14): DAP bucked the so-called "blue wave" trend to retain Ayer Keroh (N.16) with a convincing majority of 5,544 votes, defying expectations of a closely contested race.
Incumbent Kerk Chee Yee garnered about 14,100 votes in a four-cornered contest against candidates from Perikatan Nasional (PN), Bersama and Bersatu.
PN, which fielded a Gerakan candidate, came in second with about 8,556 votes, accounting for 34% of the total votes cast.
Ayer Keroh, which houses the Melaka state government administration, is a mixed constituency, with Chinese voters making up 46% of its electorate, followed by Malays at 44.1% and Indians at 8.2%.
PN had previously targeted the seat, hoping to capitalise on the so-called "blue wave" of Malay support to wrest it from DAP.
Speaking at a news conference, DAP Melaka chief Khoo Poay Tiong described the victory as significant, noting that political analysts had identified Ayer Keroh as a seat PH could potentially lose amid the "blue wave".
"But we won the seat. This shows that Ayer Keroh voters have accepted our candidate and our party," he said.
Nevertheless, Khoo said he was saddened by the defeat of PH's coalition partners, Amanah and PKR, which failed to win any seats in the state.
He acknowledged that PH would need to reassess its strategy following three consecutive electoral setbacks, but ruled out the possibility of DAP leaving the coalition.
"PH would take collective responsibility for the election outcome and conduct an in-depth review with all its component parties to identify weaknesses and determine areas for improvement," he said.