Amanah confident of holding Bukit Katil despite predictions of BN gains

Incumbent Adly Zahari has held the Bukit Katil state seat since 2018. PETALING JAYA: Amanah is confident of defending the Bukit Katil seat in next month’s Melaka state election, despite political analyst Ong Kian Ming’s prediction that Barisan Nasional (BN) could take the seat.

Melaka Amanah chief Ashraf Mukhlis Minghat said the confidence was based on incumbent Adly Zahari's service record, citing more than 280 initiatives over the last term.

“We have done our best in serving the people. It is now up to the voters to assess our performance and decide. Amanah's election machinery in Bukit Katil is in optimal condition, and efforts to engage voters are already under way,” he told FMT.

Ong had previously predicted that BN could retain the 21 seats it won in the 2021 state election and potentially pick up three to four more. The predictions included BN wresting Bukit Katil from Adly as well as winning the DAP stronghold of Ayer Keroh.

Adly, a former Melaka chief minister, first won Bukit Katil in the 2018 general election with a 3,159-vote majority in a three-cornered contest. He retained the seat in the 2021 Melaka state election, but his majority shrank to 1,057 votes in a four-cornered fight.

Ashraf dismissed the former DAP leader’s forecast as a personal opinion.

"Everyone is entitled to their own perspectives, but Amanah has never taken any of these predictions lightly and always strives to step up the groundwork to reach more voters," said Ashraf.

Ashraf also said Pakatan Harapan (PH) had a chance of returning to run Melaka even if it faced both BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN), claiming the split between PAS and Bersatu had weakened PN.

“PH still has an opportunity to return to government in Melaka, despite facing BN and PN. The voters are smart and will not easily be swayed by the 'blue wave'.

“After what happened in Negeri Sembilan, it is clear that the blue wave itself cannot solve the problems it created.”

He hoped PH’s record of running Melaka from 2018 to 2020 would be considered by the 700,000 voters.