KULAI: DAP is still the biggest winner among Pakatan Harapan parties, retaining ten state seats out of the 14 seats it contested in the just concluded Johor polls.

Three unfavourable scenarios – surge in the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread disappointment with politics and low voter turnout ­­– are the disadvantages faced by DAP.

The party wins the most seats among its allies in Pakatan Harapan with a total of 181,455 popular votes or 13.04% of all votes.

Traditionally, DAP has an upper hand in Chinese-majority urban seats. The party won all 14 seats it contested in the last general election mainly due to the high voter turnout and strong support for the opposition.

In this state election, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the slide in turnout rate, DAP lost in three mixed and one Chinese-majority constituencies.

The four state seats lost by DAP and won by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) are Bekok, Paloh, Pekan Nanas and Yong Peng.

Except for Yong Peng where the Chinese made up 57.65% of all voters, the Chinese votes in the other three state seats are less than 50%.

DAP’s Paloh candidate Sheikh Omar Ali, who was defending the seat, only won by a slim majority of 783 votes in the last election. He lost by 3,176 this time.

Yeo Tung Siong, the DAP incumbent in Pekan Nanas, had won the last election with a majority of 1,308 votes in this seat made up of 54.61% Malays and 42.46% Chinese.

The two-term state assemblyman lost to the unfavourable environment faced by the opposition this time.

DAP lost in Bekok state seat as the candidate M. Kanan is an unfamiliar face to the locals while Tan Chong, the MCA candidate who had lost in the last two general elections contesting the seat remained his service in the area.

Chew Peck Choo, the DAP’s incumbent for Yong Peng, did not contest due to health reasons.

DAP fielded Alan Tee Boon Tsong, the incumbent from Senai.

Again, the locals were unfamiliar with Tee and he lost to MCA’s Ling Tian Soon, a local who has served the locals for years.

Except for Yong Peng, DAP won seven state seats with more than 50% Chinese population, namely Bentayan (70.82%), Skudai (61.76%), Penggaram (60.65%), Mengkibol (57.81%), Senai (56.91%), Stulang (53.52%) and Jementah (50.42%).

DAP won three other state seats where Chinese population is less than 50%. They are: Tangkak (48.02%), Johor Jaya (46.20%), and Perling (45.97%).

Wong Bar Yang won Tangkak state seat with a slim majority of 372 votes while the majority votes for other winning seats have been reduced too.

Liow Cai Tung defended her seat in Johor Jaya in a four-cornered fight but the majority votes were slashed from 15,565 to 1,922 votes.

Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong secured the Perling state seat with a majority of 3,347 seats. His predecessor Cheo Yee How had won the seat with a majority of 19,533 votes in the last election.