JELEBU, July 18 — The Chennah state seat is among the four most crucial constituencies in the Jelebu parliamentary constituency for Pakatan Harapan (PH) as it seeks to retain the Negeri Sembilan government in the upcoming state election, incumbent Anthony Loke said.

Loke, who is also the Transport Minister, said that although the contest is a straight fight, PH is confident of retaining the seat based on its track record of service and development over two terms in government.

“The PH government, which has been in power since 2018, has proven that we are capable of delivering progress and stability to the state.

“We hope to receive the people’s mandate to form the state government again, and the seats in the Jelebu parliamentary constituency are crucial because in 2018, two state seats here – Chennah and Kelawang – contributed to the formation of the state government,” he told reporters after the nomination process at Dewan Besar Kuala Klawang here today.

Earlier, Jelebu Parliamentary returning officer Abdul Rahim A Aziz announced that the Chennah state seat would witness a straight fight between Loke and Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Siow Kong Choon.

Commenting on his chances of retaining Chennah, a mixed-majority seat, following the recent Johor state election in which DAP lost several semi-urban constituencies, Loke said every election has its own dynamics.

“Chennah has always been a 50-50 seat because no single ethnic group forms the majority. To win, we need support across all communities.

“The difference this time is that we are contesting as the incumbent government, having served for two terms and delivered development to the area. I hope to retain the support of Chinese, Malay and Orang Asli voters,” he said.

Meanwhile, Loke said the nomination process had gone smoothly in all four state seats under the Jelebu parliamentary constituency, with PH candidates in Pertang, Sungai Lui and Kelawang facing three-cornered contests, while Chennah, which he is contesting, will see a straight fight.

He said PH was now fully focused on campaigning to retain voters’ support.

The Election Commission (EC) has set July 28 for early voting and Aug 1 as polling day for the Negeri Sembilan state election.

For the latest updates on the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/n9. — Bernama