EX-MCA vice-president Ti Lian Ker says the Chinese voter base is still with DAP, with the party winning 9 out of the 11 seats it contested.
In a Facebook post, the MCA politician says the Negeri Sembilan election results sent an unmistakable message: the Chinese vote remains DAP’s main stronghold.
“Yesterday’s Negeri Sembilan state election result provides a very interesting political picture. BN won 18 seats, PN 7, and PH only 11. PH lost 6 seats compared to the previous election.
But look closer. Out of the 11 seats still won by PH, 9 were DAP seats. DAP contested 11 seats but was still able to defend 9 seats, even though overall PH suffered a massive loss.
“This sends an undeniable message: The Chinese vote is still DAP’s main stronghold. DAP lost Chennah and Repah, but still retained most of its traditional strongholds like Lobak, Mambau, Bukit Kepayang, Seremban Jaya, Lukut, Rahang, Temiang, Nilai, and Bahau,” he said in his post.
He added that the results meant even though there is a shift in sentiment towards PH, it did not happen evenly across all voter groups.
While PH clearly faced major problems in securing Malay support, in areas with a high concentration of Chinese voters, DAP was still able to hold on very strongly.
According to him, people shouldn’t, jump into the conclusion too quickly that the Chinese voters abandoned PH.
The Negeri Sembilan result shows a more complex picture. What is more accurate is that Chinese voters still lean toward DAP, but DAP is no longer invincible.
He said Anthony Loke’s loss in Chennah was not a big surprise since many had already predicted his defeat when the shift in political coalition occurred in what he called the ‘Bangkok Move’.
“However, the defeat of a DAP figure does not mean Chinese voters as a whole have turned away from DAP,” he added.
On the contrary, he insists, the results of 9 out of DAP’s 11 seats show that the core Chinese vote is still with DAP, while PH’s greatest weakness appears in seats that require larger Malay support.
“This might become PH’s biggest problem heading into GE16. DAP still has a Chinese vote bank. But PH does not have a similarly solid Malay vote bank. And this is why PH can retain 9 DAP seats, but at the same time lose state government power to BN-PN with a two-thirds majority,” he said.
He concluded by saying the Chinese have not left DAP. But DAP can no longer treat the Chinese vote as an automatic guarantee either.
And without an increase in Malay support, DAP’s strength in Chinese areas may not be enough to bring PH back to power.—Aug 2, 2026
Main image: Malay Mail
