Brace for the toughest GE yet: Loke warns DAP as BN and Perikatan close ranks

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — DAP must prepare for its toughest general election yet as growing cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) threatens to upend the country’s political landscape, Anthony Loke said today.

The DAP secretary-general warned that recent political pacts struck between the two coalitions across Johor, Negeri Sembilan, and Melaka present a serious challenge to DAP and its Pakatan Harapan (PH) partners, NST reported.

Addressing delegates at the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territories DAP annual convention today, Loke urged members to cast aside complacency and tighten the party’s machinery ahead of the 16th general election (GE16).

“Whatever their political calculations, the most important thing is that our party must remain united and strengthen ourselves together with our partners in Pakatan Harapan,” he said.

With the convention likely serving as the party’s final annual gathering in the capital before GE16, Loke called on members to ramp up ground preparations and prioritise defending their parliamentary seats. DAP’s core objective in Kuala Lumpur remains retaining all five parliamentary seats secured during the 15th general election (GE15).

“Kuala Lumpur DAP must help the party defend all five seats that we won in GE15,” he said. PH currently holds 10 of the 11 parliamentary seats across the Federal Territories.

Loke stressed that public support can no longer be taken for granted, citing the party’s recent electoral drubbings as a critical wake-up call.

DAP reassessed its ground strategy after a devastating wipeout in the November 2025 Sabah state election, where it lost all eight contested seats, including six traditional strongholds.

State poll wake-up calls

The electoral tremors continued into earlier state contests. In the July Johor election, DAP secured only six of the 17 seats it contested, surrendering four previously held constituencies.

In August, the party took nine of 11 seats in Negeri Sembilan, but suffered a high-profile casualty when Loke himself lost the Chennah state seat to MCA’s Siow Kong Choon by 688 votes.

Loke confirmed that DAP conducted an extensive post-mortem to address systemic weaknesses uncovered during those defeats, noting that those hard lessons must dictate future campaign strategy.

“The challenges we face are becoming greater as we approach the next election,” he warned.

Beyond the ballot box, Loke acknowledged that party leaders have become frequent targets of political attacks and viral satire online.

While accepting that criticism comes with the territory of holding federal power, he insisted members must stay focused on public delivery rather than retreating into defensiveness.

Acknowledging federal administrative shortcomings, Loke urged leaders to proactively communicate the coalition’s tangible reforms to the electorate.

He noted that doing the right thing does not always bring immediate political dividends, but leaders cannot abandon their core duties under the weight of electoral pressure.