Melaka State Government: What DAP’s Departure Portends for Federal Government

It appears that Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) are about to part ways. The two coalitions contested each other in the recent Johor polls and are doing so again in the upcoming Negeri Sembilan state elections. In Melaka, four members of the state assembly from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) – which is part of the PH coalition – resigned from all government positions and withdrew from the state administration on 14 July.

The DAP representatives did so after the BN-led state administration passed a controversial law that allows for the appointment of up to seven additional unelected individuals as members of the state assembly. The four had rejected the motion tabled by the state government and had also opposed it when it was raised at the executive committee (exco) meeting. As a result, they will also relinquish all other state-level posts within village development and security committees (JPKK) and local councils. Apart from the four DAP politicians, PH chairman Adly Zahari (from Parti Amanah Negara, a party in PH) also opposed the bill. While DAP now sits on the opposition bench of the assembly, Adly has chosen to remain in the government bloc, citing continued support for Ab Rauf Yusof as chief minister. 

Other state governments have done the same. The BN administration in the state of Johor tabled and passed a similar bill on 7 May, with the same justifications. Previously, other states had made the same move. Sabah was the first to do so in 1963. In 2003, a Terengganu bill allowed the state assembly to appoint up to four female or non-Muslim members. In 2020, Pahang tabled a similar bill with the stated objective of improving service delivery. The latest development in Melaka marks the fifth time a state in Malaysia has allowed appointed members in the state legislative assembly.

Melaka’s Chief Minister, Ab Rauf Yusof has defended the Melaka State Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026, stating that this would allow the appointment of individuals with expertise and experience in fields such as law, education and investment to contribute to policymaking and legislative debates. The chief minister is from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the key party in BN.

The five politicians voting against the bill believe otherwise. They argue that such appointments contravene the principles of parliamentary democracy and the electoral system, and that such representatives – who could then vote on policy matters affecting the state – should be elected by the people. Professional experts could, they argued, be appointed as advisors to the state.

The profile of the future appointees will reveal more about the state government’s technocratic intentions. However, the history of local government appointments shows that partisanship eventually crept in. In 1976, local government elections were abolished; members of local councils were to be appointed instead; parties would typically appoint their party members. In 2008, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government in Selangor initiated the practice of appointing a proportion of “non-partisan” NGO representatives to local councils. However, this quickly descended into factionalism. DAP and other parties accused the PR government of appointing partisan councillors under the NGO quota.  

The PH-BN fractures across multiple state governments might put sustained pressure on the coalitions’ ability to cooperate at the federal level.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PKR leader, has attempted to intervene, urging Melaka DAP to defer its decision to withdraw. Anwar states that differences of opinion within a coalition are normal and should not deviate from “policies for economic growth and the people’s well-being”. PKR had opposed the BN-proposed bill when it was tabled in the Johor state assembly.

Anwar would certainly have cause for concern. Melaka is due for an election soon. The state legislative assembly’s five-year term will end in December 2026, with the dissolution and election expected as early as September. Heading into an election without holding any positions in the Melaka state government — and importantly, the resources that come attached to such positions — may put PH in a disadvantageous position from the onset. The reality at the federal level is such that state constituency development funds (CDFs) are typically allocated to members of the state assembly aligned with the state government, and are automatically withdrawn from those who are not. To compound matters, a DAP withdrawal from the state government signals dissension in what is supposed to be a coherent and cohesive unity government in Putrajaya.

From a wider perspective, the trend of more states including appointed members in their respective state assemblies is worrying; this might indicate that ruling state governments are attempting to solidify their political capital against potential opposition, shoring up higher margins in the event of a stalemate vote in the assembly. This may be state ruling coalitions’ response to the speed at which Malaysia’s political parties are fragmenting: new parties such as the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, Parti Bersama Malaysia and Parti Wawasan Negara (Wawasan) have emerged relatively quickly over the last few years. The consolidation of power may be the more convenient thing to do, instead of negotiating across the aisle, to achieve consensus and pass laws and policies efficiently.

Looking Forward

What does this augur for the state of Melaka? The BN state government does not need DAP in its government; Chief Minister Ab Rauf has even said that PH was there merely for perhiasan (decoration). BN still controls 20 of the 28 seats in the Melaka state legislative assembly, a comfortable two-thirds majority, while PH has five. Bersatu, Parti Islam Malaysia (PAS) and Wawasan have one seat each. While BN never needed PH’s support to form the Melaka state government, Ab Rauf Yusof had reached out to invite DAP to join the Melaka government before the state elections in 2021. This was before the PH-BN unity government was officially formed at the federal level in November 2022. This indicates BN’s goodwill towards DAP was in place regardless of the numbers. Such goodwill may have since dissipated.

Only several months remain before the Melaka state election is set to take place. Melaka is BN’s for the taking. If it was not certain that PH and BN would contest separately at the federal level, it is now. The PH-BN fractures across multiple state governments might put sustained pressure on the coalitions’ ability to cooperate at the federal level. The unity government still needs to perform as a single, holistic entity, or Anwar Ibrahim may be forced to call the 16^th General Election before finishing a full term in December 2027.

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