Negeri polls: Only 3 Indian assemblymen won, 2 from DAP – 1 from PKR!
(R.Mutharasan)
SEREMBAN: Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) have secured a majority of state seats in the Negeri Sembilan state election, paving the way for the electoral pact to form the new state government.
The electoral understanding between BN and PH ensured that Malay votes remained consolidated across predominantly Malay constituencies, providing a decisive advantage to candidates from both coalitions.
Mixed results for Indian candidates – Arul Kumar wins in Nilai
Out of the state constituencies contested, MIC (representing Barisan Nasional) fielded candidates in two key seats, namely Seremban Jaya and Sri Tanjong, but lost in both. Although a record number of Indian candidates contested in the Negeri Sembilan state assembly elections only 3 candidates managed to secure victory.
PH candidate Arul Kumar Jambunathan from DAP secured a victory in Nilai by polling 15,797 votes. Facing a five-cornered contest, he won by a majority of 5,937 votes. In Nilai, the surprising outcome was the number of votes secured by unknown Berjasa candidate Zamani Bin Ibrahim, who ended up with 5,844 votes. This is the 4th consecutive term Arul Kumar has won the Nilai seat.
Veerappan loses in Repah
The surprising defeat for DAP was in Repah, a seat defended by Veerappan for 4 consecutive terms since 2008. MCA-BN candidate Koh Kim Swee won Repah by a slim majority of 444 votes. Repah is another example of how Malay votes consolidated to defeat DAP candidates in some constituencies. Repah’s Chinese voters were 41.0%, Malay voters were 40.1%, while Indians were Indian 17.4%. Assuming Veerapan would have secured the majority of the Chinese votes as a DAP candidate and the majority of the Indian votes as an Indian candidate, the majority of the Malay votes would have shifted towards BN-MCA. There is also a possibility that a portion of the Chinese voters may have chosen the MCA candidate due to ethnic reasons.
Repah is one of the two seats won by MCA, the other being Chennah, in which DAP Secretary General Anthony loke lost by a narrow margin of 688 votes to MCA-BN candidate Siow Kong Choon.
Dr Rajasekaran wins in Sri Tanjong
Dr Rajasekaran from PKR-PH successfully defended the Sri Tanjong state seat under the Port Dickson parliament for a second consecutive term. He defeated MIC-BN candidate Achuthan Alagan by a comfortable 1,335-vote margin.
Mugunthan keeps track record by securing victory in Seremban Jaya
Seremban Jaya seat was won by DAP in previous elections for 4 consecutive terms since 2008. This time, MIC was allocated the seat under BN. The incumbent, P. Gunasegaran, did not contest, and the new candidate was Mugunthan. Assisted by Gunasegaran, Mugunthan defeated the MIC candidate Thinalan. Mugunthan won by a comfortable 5,701 votes.
The consolidated vote share between the BN-PN coalition parties proved pivotal across the state, securing a solid two-thirds majority for the BN-PN alliance.
