Biggest political earthquake since 2018
By Joceline Tan
Sunday, 02 Aug 2026 | 2:21 PM MYT
THERE was a rather sentimental mood at DAP’s finale ceramah in downtown Seremban as supporters waved the torches on their phones in the air and sang along to a popular Chinese song, “Tomorrow will be better”.
But the next day ended badly for Pakatan Harapan, with some likening the outcome of the Negri Sembilan election to the biggest earthquake since 2018.
The tremors that emanated from the spectacular change of government has shaken the Madani government much more than the defeat in Johor.
No sitting Prime Minister has ever had to face this sort of setback, coming one after another and with another looming just next door in Melaka.
“It was an unforgettable night with many layers of messaging. Melaka could be another nightmare,” said newspaper columnist Jeff Ooi.
The Internet was choked with commentary over the fall of DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke and former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun but the far more serious question is what has become of PKR, the party of the Prime Minister?
DAP has slipped from its pinnacle but PKR seems to be sliding down a slippery slope barely clinging on, be it in Sabah, Johor or Negri Sembilan.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was the driving force in all these state elections.
He has done almost everything within his powers to win over the Malays and yet they spurned his party.
He pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he released the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Tabung Haji scandal. It was supposed to be a bomb that would blow up in Umno’s face but it failed to swing Malay votes to Pakatan.
Parti Amanah was supposed to get the Malay support but no one even bothers to talk about the party anymore.
Pakatan is in dire straits, it has hit rock bottom.
Loke, who is Transport Minister, looked devastated when conceding defeat to Barisan Nasional’s John Siow in Chennah. As the Chinese would say, they had chopped off the dragon’s head.
He secured about 75% of the votes in Titi Kong, the biggest Chinese new village in Chennah. In the good old days, he would have swept up 95% of the Chinese votes but his opponent is not only from the village but shares the same “Siow” surname with 70% of the villagers.
But it was the Malay votes that cost him the seat. The anti-DAP propaganda has sunk in with the Malays.
A Perak PKR leader said the government’s soft touch towards former Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has undermined the Prime Minister’s war against corruption.
He said a news report claiming that Azam’s younger brother was awarded a multi-million ringgit contract from the Transport Ministry might have hurt the DAP leader among thinking Malays.
How is Loke going to face his party at the DAP congress on Aug 16?
Loke is a mature and moderate leader but the Malay dislike for DAP has unfortunately spilled over onto him. He was fundamental in building up DAP’s presence in Negri Sembilan where he was once a voice in the wilderness.
How will the DAP’s slide in support affect the thinking of delegations at the congress?
Surely they can no longer ignore the anger and sense of betrayal among the Chinese, especially the younger Chinese?
DAP has been the pillar holding up Pakatan yet is blamed when things go wrong.
DAP leaders had been confident that fear of PAS and Islam would lock in the Chinese vote.
“Young Chinese voters are not burdened by history. Young voters in the past used to think of the future of the community, of issues like Chinese education. Nowadays, they think about themselves,” said a Seremban lawyer.
Will they blame the Chinese anger on the Prime Minister’s overtures to the Malays?
DAP leaders only started to speak out more after the Sabah debacle but has that been enough for the party? As for the Malay DAP leaders, they are like flower pots in a Chinese living room with zero appeal among the Malays.
Will delegates save the party or save the Prime Minister?
The landscape has changed and DAP will have to think out of the box to survive.
Umno and PAS were previously like a blue and green wave competing to reach the shore.
But the blue and green wave has become a Malay tsunami.
The non-Malays may dislike Umno and distrust PAS.
“The wave is real and it’s flowing from the South China Sea to the Strait of Malacca,” said the above PKR leader.
Speculation is growing that Anwar is under pressure to call for an early general election.
Why should he? He can go on for as long as he still commands the numbers in Parliament.
Besides, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamid has assured him several times that Umno will not pull out its support in Putrajaya.
It is unclear whether the cikgu still trusts his anak murid who has engineered two major wins for Barisan thus far.
The anak murid is on par with his cikgu as the ultimate political animal.
The Chinese have this saying that welcoming a tiger into the house is like inviting trouble. That might be the situation in the Madani government today.
THERE was a rather sentimental mood at DAP’s finale ceramah in downtown Seremban as supporters waved the torches on their phones in the air and sang along to a popular Chinese song, “Tomorrow will be better”.
But the next day ended badly for Pakatan Harapan, with some likening the outcome of the Negri Sembilan election to the biggest earthquake since 2018.
The tremors that emanated from the spectacular change of government has shaken the Madani government much more than the defeat in Johor.
No sitting Prime Minister has ever had to face this sort of setback, coming one after another and with another looming just next door in Melaka.
“It was an unforgettable night with many layers of messaging. Melaka could be another nightmare,” said newspaper columnist Jeff Ooi.
The Internet was choked with commentary over the fall of DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke and former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun but the far more serious question is what has become of PKR, the party of the Prime Minister?
DAP has slipped from its pinnacle but PKR seems to be sliding down a slippery slope barely clinging on, be it in Sabah, Johor or Negri Sembilan.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was the driving force in all these state elections.
He has done almost everything within his powers to win over the Malays and yet they spurned his party.
He pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he released the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Tabung Haji scandal. It was supposed to be a bomb that would blow up in Umno’s face but it failed to swing Malay votes to Pakatan.
Parti Amanah was supposed to get the Malay support but no one even bothers to talk about the party anymore.
Pakatan is in dire straits, it has hit rock bottom.
Loke, who is Transport Minister, looked devastated when conceding defeat to Barisan Nasional’s John Siow in Chennah. As the Chinese would say, they had chopped off the dragon’s head.
He secured about 75% of the votes in Titi Kong, the biggest Chinese new village in Chennah. In the good old days, he would have swept up 95% of the Chinese votes but his opponent is not only from the village but shares the same “Siow” surname with 70% of the villagers.
But it was the Malay votes that cost him the seat. The anti-DAP propaganda has sunk in with the Malays.
A Perak PKR leader said the government’s soft touch towards former Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has undermined the Prime Minister’s war against corruption.
He said a news report claiming that Azam’s younger brother was awarded a multi-million ringgit contract from the Transport Ministry might have hurt the DAP leader among thinking Malays.
How is Loke going to face his party at the DAP congress on Aug 16?
Loke is a mature and moderate leader but the Malay dislike for DAP has unfortunately spilled over onto him. He was fundamental in building up DAP’s presence in Negri Sembilan where he was once a voice in the wilderness.
How will the DAP’s slide in support affect the thinking of delegations at the congress?
Surely they can no longer ignore the anger and sense of betrayal among the Chinese, especially the younger Chinese?
DAP has been the pillar holding up Pakatan yet is blamed when things go wrong.
DAP leaders had been confident that fear of PAS and Islam would lock in the Chinese vote.
“Young Chinese voters are not burdened by history. Young voters in the past used to think of the future of the community, of issues like Chinese education. Nowadays, they think about themselves,” said a Seremban lawyer.
Will they blame the Chinese anger on the Prime Minister’s overtures to the Malays?
DAP leaders only started to speak out more after the Sabah debacle but has that been enough for the party? As for the Malay DAP leaders, they are like flower pots in a Chinese living room with zero appeal among the Malays.
Will delegates save the party or save the Prime Minister?
The landscape has changed and DAP will have to think out of the box to survive.
Umno and PAS were previously like a blue and green wave competing to reach the shore.
But the blue and green wave has become a Malay tsunami.
The non-Malays may dislike Umno and distrust PAS.
“The wave is real and it’s flowing from the South China Sea to the Strait of Malacca,” said the above PKR leader.
Speculation is growing that Anwar is under pressure to call for an early general election.
Why should he? He can go on for as long as he still commands the numbers in Parliament.
Besides, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamid has assured him several times that Umno will not pull out its support in Putrajaya.
It is unclear whether the cikgu still trusts his anak murid who has engineered two major wins for Barisan thus far.
The anak murid is on par with his cikgu as the ultimate political animal.
The Chinese have this saying that welcoming a tiger into the house is like inviting trouble. That might be the situation in the Madani government today.
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