BN-PN’s Melaka election landslide puts spotlight on jobs, investments and political divides

[KUALA LUMPUR] For civil engineer Devan Chandran, 47, the prospect of returning to his hometown of Melaka is becoming more appealing as his parents age.

But having built a career in Australia, he hopes to see more high-value job opportunities in his home state before he makes the move.

“Melbourne isn’t too far from Kuala Lumpur, but my parents are getting older. I want to stay closer in case anything happens,” he told The Business Times.

Retail worker Nurul Aida who works in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, noted a different side of the same problem – young people turning to gig work such as e-hailing because entry-level corporate jobs pay too little.

“My cousin graduated from business school, but was offered a starting pay only slightly above minimum wage (of RM1,700). In contrast, his e-hailing gig brings in RM3,000 to RM5,000 (US$734 to US$1,223) a month,” she said.

Such concerns highlight the challenge facing Melaka’s election winners – translating political stability into better-paying jobs at a time when residents are increasingly looking abroad or turning to the gig economy for opportunities they struggle to find at home.

The electoral pact between Barisan Nasional (BN), anchored by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), and Perikatan Nasional (PN) swept 24 of the state’s 28 seats on Saturday (Nov 14). BN took 21 seats and PN, three. Pakatan Harapan (PH) won four.

The landslide gives the winning alliance a commanding mandate, but also raises expectations of the state attracting higher-value investments.

The victory also carries implications for political alliances ahead of Malaysia’s next national polls.

The outcome strengthens the case for cooperation between Malay nationalist party Umno and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), a key force in PN.

At the federal level, however, Umno remains part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government alongside his PH coalition, while PAS is in the opposition alliance.

The BN-PN Melaka joint manifesto promised to attract RM30 billion in investments over five years. It also proposed the development of 25,000 affordable homes in the state.

Under the theme “Building Melaka’s Future, Prospering the Nation”, the alliance aims to create 25,000 new jobs and train more than 15,000 technical and vocational education and training graduates in high-technology fields.

Turning stability into investment

Kenny Low, a member of the business community and managing director of Himalaya Group – a Melaka-based manufacturer and exporter of functional hydration sweets – said that overall business sentiment has become cautiously optimistic.

He said that, unlike during the 2021 election, when firms focused on keeping operations running during the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are now weighing investment, expansion and hiring.

But operating costs and skilled-worker availability have continued to shape expansion decisions.

“When we expand a factory, we need to know when approvals are likely to come through so we can schedule equipment installation, plan our hiring and make commitments to customers,” he said.

Low said predictable approval timelines and a dedicated point of contact to coordinate applications across agencies and local councils would improve efficiency.

To ensure local firms benefit from incoming capital, he called for initiatives to connect domestic suppliers in packaging, logistics and equipment maintenance with new investors; smaller businesses could also do with help in understanding purchasing requirements and in competing for contracts.

These items on his wish list bridge the gap between the help businesses need to expand and the skilled, higher-paying roles that voters are demanding.

“I hope the state government gives businesses clear timelines and follows through on projects already under way,” he said.

Leverage shifts in Putrajaya

Analysts said that Melaka’s election outcome points to the effectiveness of avoiding three-cornered fights for Malay votes, rather than a dramatic expansion of BN’s strength.

Liew Wui Chern, an assistant professor and policy analyst at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, said: “The clearest message is that voters rewarded BN-PN cooperation and political stability, while PH has still not found an effective way to break into the Malay-majority electorate.”

BN’s tally was unchanged from 2021, when the last state polls were held; PN gained a seat from that last round, and PH lost one.

Prof Liew said BN’s strong performances alongside PN in Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka give BN greater bargaining power in negotiations with PH, and strengthen the push for a broader BN-PN arrangement before the next general election.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi described the victory as a continuation of the “blue wave” momentum from Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

But Prof Liew said he sees no immediate threat to the federal coalition, and that BN retains strong institutional and political incentives to stay put. “The immediate effect is probably not the collapse of the unity government, but a more confident BN and a more difficult strategic environment for PH.”

Testing a national formula

Sunway University political scientist Professor Wong Chin Huat said the combined victory matched the outcome suggested by adding BN and PN votes from the 2022 General Election at state constituency level.

He attributed the pattern to entrenched party loyalties shaped substantially by ethno-religious identity and a shrinking pool of swing voters.

Prof Wong said that for PH, it was a case of insufficient Malay support and demoralisation among supporters who saw little prospect of the coalition forming the state government.

He characterised a PH spokesperson’s claim that the coalition could win 18 seats as an effort to boost morale, and a reflection of concern that voters would be reluctant to elect an opposition with limited influence over legislation and constituency development.

Before 2008, supporters had been willing to back opposition parties in the hope of victory. PH’s declining prospects now risk discouraging participation, Wong said.

The electoral system, in which the candidate with the most votes wins each seat, encouraged Umno and PAS to unite, een as PH’s centrist positioning failed to attract enough Malay support, he argued.

Prof Wong viewed PN’s acceptance of a smaller seat allocation as a strategic concession to secure future cooperation with BN. Like Prof Liew, he saw no immediate threat to Anwar’s government.

But Prof Liew cautioned that Melaka should not automatically be regarded as a national template.

“The general election will involve very different constituencies, especially urban and mixed seats, so BN will still have to weigh whether closer cooperation with PN comes at a cost among non-Malay and moderate voters,” he added.