Loke faces uphill battle as 'Malay unity' wave sweeps Chennah's kampungs
Malaysiakini Team
Published: Jul 29, 2026 12:00 PM
Updated: 4:38 PM
N SEMBILAN POLLS | Ever since the state election campaign kicked off, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has been hard at work.
Criss-crossing the Chennah constituency and visiting various small towns and villages, Loke is mounting an effort to overcome a major obstacle: Malay voters.
He faces an uphill battle in what is the toughest of the 11 seats DAP is contesting, as more than half of the rural constituency’s voters are bumiputera, a demographic not typical of the party’s traditional seats.
The situation is such that after visiting several Malay kampungs, Chinese new villages, and Orang Asli settlements in Chennah, the Malaysiakini team found that Loke’s battle is much tougher than the figures on paper suggest.
And with just three days left to make a difference, the task is proving challenging, particularly in the Malay heartland, as BN and Perikatan Nasional’s message of Malay unity appears to be resonating with the locals.
Located in the Jelebu district of northern Negeri Sembilan, Chennah is a rural constituency with 14,422 voters, of whom 47.8 percent are Malays and another 6.3 percent are Orang Asli.
East Malaysian bumiputera make up another 1.3 percent of voters here. Together, the bumiputera population makes up 55.4 percent of voters.
Chinese voters comprise 42.6 percent of the electorate, while Indians account for just two percent of voters here.
Clues in previous elections
Although the number of voters is small, Chennah spans more than 700 sq km, covering vast areas of forests, river valleys, mountainous terrain, and scattered villages, making it the largest state constituency in Negeri Sembilan.
Such a geographical environment makes election campaigning heavily dependent on grassroots organisation, local networks, local campaign machinery, and door-to-door visits - areas that have long been the traditional strengths of BN, especially Umno.
Despite this, Loke wrested the seat from BN in his first contest in 2013, securing 56 percent of the vote - when DAP was still allied with PAS - and has defended it ever since.
In the 2023 state election, Loke won the seat handily with 61 percent of the votes when Pakatan Harapan and BN were on the same team.
But the political realities have changed dramatically as BN is now aligned with PN.
Measuring BN and PN’s support in Chennah is just a matter of going back to the 15th general election, when all three coalitions contested independently.
In the contest for the Jelebu parliamentary seat then, only 44 percent of Chennah voters cast their ballots for Harapan. However, 41 percent voted BN, while 15 percent voted PN for a combined vote share of 56 percent if the two banded together.
If Chennah was contested at that time under the current alignment, it would have allowed a BN-PN pact to win by 1,306 votes.
‘Malay unity’
Malaysiakini’s observations thus far indicate that many of those who voted for BN and PN in 2022 have not changed their alignment and have now consolidated.
In several Malay kampung, BN flags are seen everywhere while Harapan flags appeared more along roadsides or at the homes of a small number of supporters.
For example, in Kampung Sungai Rotan 2, apart from the home of the Village Development and Security Committee chairperson, few other residential homes in the village publicly hung Harapan flags.
Malay voters Malaysiakini met also openly expressed their support for BN - which is the Malay unity faction’s representative in the seat - believing that the coalition can better take care of the locals.
Some indicated they have been long-time Umno supporters, while some younger voters candidly admitted they would follow the choices of their parents and families.
Others said the “Malay unity” promoted by BN and PN aligns with their political expectations.
A Malay voter who claimed to have previously supported Harapan, Solihen Johari, 30, said his decision to switch back to BN this time was mainly due to the rising cost of living and political issues involving “religion and race”.
“I feel one reason is the economy. Religious issues were also part of why I switched. Because if possible, I don’t really want others. I just want Malays to take care of Malaysia,” he said.
Despite the pro-Malay sentiment, BN’s candidate in the seat is MCA’s Siow Kong Choon.
For BN supporters like Solihen, this is a non-issue.
“Here in Negeri Sembilan, we want people who can look after the state, right? I don’t want others. But well, if you look at it, our BN candidate is also Chinese, right? That’s fine. Just follow along. Just go with it, right?” he asked.
Solihen Johari
While seemingly paradoxical, this acceptance of MCA is tied to the perception that in BN and PN, Malay-Muslims are in charge, while foes often paint DAP as being in control of Harapan.
PN is also working hard to convince its supporters in Chennah to vote for Siow.
Rosmadi Arif, who contested Chennah for PN in 2023 and has since left Bersatu to join offshoot party Wawasan Negara, told Malaysiakini that he would “do his best” to persuade voters who previously supported him to vote for the MCA candidate.
This shows that cooperation between BN and PN is not limited to political agreements at the leadership level, but includes grassroots mobilisation.
Siow, who was born and raised in Chennah, also appears to have the advantage of being local - a factor which rural Malay voters find important.
Siow Kong Choon
Many rural voters interviewed also repeatedly brought up the issue of rising costs. Some respondents believed that while the existing targeted subsidy mechanism helps reduce waste, the way it is executed has increased their living burden.
For example, RON95 subsidies require IC verification, and the cooking oil purchasing mechanism has also caused inconvenience for some senior citizens and small traders.
Linda Baharuddin, 48, a food stall trader in Kampung Sungai Rotan 2, said that since Harapan came into power, prices have soared and promises have gone unfulfilled.
Linda Baharuddin
She also complained that Loke “has never been here. It is hard for us to find him to lodge complaints; we don’t know where he is, nor do we know when he will come to Chennah.”
‘Anti-Malay’ accusations vs track record
The sentiments against Harapan in Malay villages are such that events Loke holds for this community often have lacklustre attendance.
On July 25, Loke held a dinner with Malay voters in Kampung Teriang featuring Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari; the turnout of local Malay villagers was limited, and the overall atmosphere was rather cool.
The next day, he faced a similar situation in Kampung Sungai Rotan, where fewer than 10 local villagers turned up while the rest were campaigners and media.
During his speech, Loke was clearly aware of the challenges before him as he devoted much of his time countering negative narratives about him circulating among rural Malays.
He emphasised that Harapan rule would not lead to Malays losing their political standing, as Malays remain the national majority group, and that the menteri besar position will always be held by a Malay.
He also stressed that he had nothing to do with the recent dispute between the state’s Minangkabau chieftains and its ruler.
Loke urged voters not to cast their ballots based on unverified claims, but rather to judge him on his service record over the past 13 years.
This track record is reflected fondly by a small but adamant group of rural Malays who will be voting for Harapan on Aug 1.
They view “Malay unity” as more of a political strategy, criticising past BN administrations for selective resource distribution. Some also expressed dissatisfaction with how Umno previously handled controversies involving the Negeri Sembilan royal family.
Roslan Tharim, 55, a gardener from Kampung Sungai Buloh, said that Loke has provided a lot of assistance to locals.
“BN does too, but it comes late. They are biased, choosing those close to them,” he said.
Roslan Tharim
Farid Nor, 37, a farmer also residing in Kampung Sungai Buloh, is a Parti Bersama Malaysia member who supports former economy minister Rafizi Ramli and regularly tunes in to his podcast.
Since Bersama is not contesting in the Negeri Sembilan state election, he will be supporting Harapan in Chennah.
“Loke has brought a lot of development here. For example, that hall down there was brought in by him. He made this village a Kampung Angkat Madani. He developed the paddy sector - that wasn’t under his scope, but he developed it anyway.
“He built the square so more people can come here. For the poor, he has also given out many wheelchairs. What I want to say is, from those aspects, he truly looks after us. Personally, my view is that we should retain him,” Farid told Malaysiakini.
Loke’s Chinese base
Despite facing headwinds among Malay voters, Loke retains his advantage with Chinese votes, particularly through the personal brand he has built in Chennah over the past 13 years.
When Malaysiakini interviewed several Chinese voters in Titi, they were almost unanimous in praising Loke’s service record, noting that despite holding multiple key positions, he still returns to his constituency regularly to maintain contact with residents.
A 50-year-old Chinese voter who wished to remain anonymous said Loke’s contributions in Titi are obvious to all, but acknowledged the difficulty of this election.
However, he expressed confidence that Harapan could mobilise out-of-town voters to help Loke defend his seat.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke visiting the Titi market during a campaign event on July 25, 2026
“Although he isn’t here all the time, his team provides service here,” the voter said.
Likewise, two business owners - one running a motorcycle shop and the other a grocery store - echoed each other, stating that Loke has brought much development and welfare to the area, and that they will definitely support him this time.
In contrast to the lukewarm turnout at Loke’s events in Malay kampungs, a DAP grand ceramah in Titi on Sunday attracted nearly a thousand attendees.
Speaking at the event, Loke reflected on his journey and emotional connections since first contesting in Chennah in 2013 - including promoting Titi’s murals, securing donations from businesspersons Lim Wee Chai and Vincent Tan to assist the community, and the relief efforts during the 2021 major floods.
“I am neither a local nor a Hakka. I don’t speak Hakka, and my surname isn’t Siow (his opponent Siow is the youth chief of the Titi Siow Clan Association), but everyone has always given Loke immense support,” he said.
He also mentioned that while some people feel he should move to a safer constituency, as the party chief, he should take the toughest fight.
“If I go back to Seremban today, that wouldn’t be DAP. We have backbone, and we will fight to the end no matter what.”
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke visiting the Titi market during a campaign event on July 25, 2026
Many Chinese voters from Titi reside elsewhere, mostly in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, while others work in different cities or abroad.
To encourage out-of-town Chinese voters to return home and vote on Aug 1, DAP leaders urged older local voters to call their children back and reached out to out-of-town voters through various campaign materials.
On July 21, Negeri Sembilan DAP secretary Cha Kee Chin posted photos on Facebook showing one “Encik Liew”, who returned from Melbourne, Australia, and extended his stay to vote for Loke in Chennah.
In a reply under the post, Liew said his children would also return to vote two days before polling day.
Chinese voters remain Loke’s largest source of support. If the DAP leader receives at least 5,000 votes or 80 percent support from local Chinese voters, he still stands a fighting chance.
However, for a state election, this is an exceptionally difficult turnout figure to achieve.
Hardworking MCA candidate
In addition, BN could potentially win over a small portion of Chinese support. BN candidate Siow is a Titi local with family clan connections and grassroots networks, and was already active in the constituency long before campaigning officially began.
MCA is also trying to win over fence-sitters through the return of party members, local activities, and inviting influencer-lawyer Ang Woei Shang to campaign for him.
A Chinese couple in their 50s who run a restaurant in Titi shared with Malaysiakini that during the floods, Siow was quick to arrive at victims’ homes to provide aid.
“Outsiders might not know, but locals living in Titi understand that this young man truly serves the community.”
Another voter said: “Both are very good, so I don’t know who to choose. Everyone grew up watching Siow, but undeniably, Loke has made significant contributions to the development of tourism.”
Orang Asli could be kingmakers
If the gap between BN and Harapan narrows, the approximately 900 Orang Asli voters in Chennah could become kingmakers.
Both sides are vying hard for Orang Asli support. On July 23, Loke visited an Orang Asli village to engage with local residents, and appeared to receive a positive response.
BN quickly followed suit. On July 25, Siow arranged as many as five visits to Orang Asli communities in a single day in hopes of strengthening ties.
Judging from the current situation, the contest in Chennah is no longer just a duel between two candidates.
For BN, this presents an opportunity to reclaim a former stronghold.
Furthermore, defeating Loke, the DAP secretary-general, will prove that the BN alliance with PN in the name of Malay unity is indeed effective in neutralising the party, which the two coalitions have painted as a threat to the Malays.
Reporting by Lee Way Loon, Hariz Mohd, Khoo Shi Yuan, and Firdaus Hanafiah
