KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) will examine its candidates’ preparedness, youth voting patterns and lower voter turnout as part of a post-mortem following its disappointing performance in the Melaka state election.

Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the coalition would hold an initial meeting this week to assess the results and identify areas that need improvement ahead of future elections.

He said one of the issues that needed to be examined was whether candidates were adequately prepared to contest their respective seats and carry out effective campaigns.

“This is an experience that we take as a lesson and reflect on what has happened. The party will do a post-mortem to ascertain the aspects that we need to discuss.

“There are a few things that will be discussed, particularly the readiness of candidates, especially in urban areas,” he said.

Fahmi said the coalition would also look at whether its candidates were sufficiently prepared to campaign and connect with voters in the constituencies they contested.

“Usually in urban areas, the candidates are stronger and more prepared. But for some seats, perhaps the issue was the candidates and their readiness to carry out the campaign,” he said.

He said PH would also study the impact of the youth vote and lower voter turnout compared with that in the previous general election.

“Insya-Allah, this week, Pakatan Harapan will hold a meeting to conduct the initial post-mortem,” he said.

The coalition’s performance in Melaka was a setback, with PH winning only four of the 28 state seats contested, compared with five seats in the previous state election.

Barisan Nasional (BN) secured 21 seats, while Perikatan Nasional (PN) won three, giving the BN-PN alliance a combined 24 seats in the 28-member state assembly.

PH’s four victories were all secured by DAP candidates in Kesidang, Ayer Keroh, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir, while the coalition lost Bukit Katil, previously held by its Melaka chairman Datuk Seri Adly Zahari.

Fahmi said the coalition would need to examine the different factors behind the outcome rather than draw conclusions before completing its assessment.

He also pointed to DAP’s performance as one positive aspect, noting that the party had retained its seats.

“This is the first time since the Sabah election where DAP, a component of Pakatan Harapan, did not lose their seats. So this is one positive development,” he said.

The post-mortem will be part of PH’s efforts to identify weaknesses and make the necessary adjustments to improve its electoral performance moving forward.