Pakatan’s red line in Melaka: No hate, no incitement, no race-baiting

MELAKA, Oct 31 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) has set its stance of not compromising and rejecting the politics of hatred, incitement and narrow racial narratives throughout the 16th Melaka state election campaign.

PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the coalition chose to highlight the campaign based on the theme ‘Melaka Rumah Kita’, focusing on competing ideas, service records and the welfare of the people.

Saifuddin Nasution, who is also the Home Minister, explained that victory in the election is not judged by which party is the most vocal in inciting hostility, but rather by which party is most trusted to be able to defend the fate of the community.

“Our red line is to completely reject the politics of hatred, the politics of incitement and politics that is based on the idea that to defend our race, we must oppress other races. For our race to succeed, other races have no place... we completely reject that.

“We will focus on a peaceful campaign, because we are convinced that an election campaign is not measured by the victory of which party is the loudest, but who is actually the most trusted and credible,” he said at a press conference at the PH Main Operations Room here today.

Commenting further, Saifuddin Nasution said the three main messages that PH brought in the election campaign this time were to celebrate the festival of democracy by respecting differences of opinion; to highlight policy offers and the ability to solve problems; and to launch a manifesto that focuses on job opportunities, the cost of living and the future of the youth.

Touching on the direction of the campaign, Saifuddin Nasution explained that PH would not entertain any political speculation regarding the new alignment after the election, but instead would focus fully on reaching out to voters including out-of-constituency voters.

“The out-of-constituency voter segment is indeed included in the electoral machinery’s checklist. We have accurate figures for each seat contested regarding out-of-constituency voters, and they are the focus of our attention to be contacted to ensure they return to vote,” he explained.

The EC has set November 14 as the polling day for the Melaka election while early voting is on November 10.

For the latest news on the 16th Melaka polls, visit https://election.bernama.com/prn/melaka/2026/. — Bernama