Source : NSTP/Deerina Sheikh Faisal
MELAKA, November 4, 2026 – Pakatan Harapan (PH) has unveiled its manifesto for the 16th Melaka State Election, themed ‘Melaka Rumah Kita’ (Melaka, Our Home), setting out three key pillars and 12 aspirations that the coalition says form a development roadmap to improve the well-being of the state’s people, the New Straits Times and Sinar Harian reported.
Melaka PH chairman Adly Zahari launched the manifesto at the coalition’s main operations room in Hang Tuah Jaya on November 3. He was joined by acting Melaka PKR leadership council chairman Adam Adli Abd Halim and Melaka DAP chairman Khoo Poay Tiong.
The first pillar, Smart Melaka, aims to transform Melaka into a smart state to improve efficiency, security and the people’s quality of life. Adly said government services would be strengthened through digitalisation to make dealings easier for the public, speed up the delivery system and make services more transparent and user-friendly.
The second pillar focuses on opening more opportunities for young people. “For the second pillar, PH proposes allocating 30 per cent of local authority work contracts to young men and women to create more job and business opportunities, while providing valuable work experience for the local younger generation,” he said.
The third pillar targets the tourism industry. “The third pillar targets attracting up to 25 million tourists to Melaka by 2032, making the state a more competitive international tourism destination,” Adly said. According to Sinar Harian, the coalition also wants to prioritise local tourism service providers so that the economic benefits reach the people.
Besides the three pillars, the manifesto lists 12 aspirations. These include housing for the people, a people-friendly government, quality jobs, a secure future for the younger generation, empowered women, thriving entrepreneurs and improved public welfare.
The remaining aspirations focus on smoother, safer and better-connected traffic; strengthening Islamic teachings and religious institutions; clean, transparent and integrity-driven governance; turning idle land into a source of income; and safeguarding the people’s rights to their land.
“Our final focus and aspiration is unity and harmony for everyone in Melaka. We must strengthen unity and social harmony because we recognise that our society is diverse,” Adly said.
He said the 12 aspirations took into account feedback from the public and the business community, as well as PH’s experience of serving at both state and federal levels. Launching the manifesto on the fourth day after nomination day, he added, would give the public time to study and discuss the coalition’s proposals during the campaign, and PH would explain each pillar and aspiration through a series of forums.
Responding to the launch, Melaka Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman and caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said every party had the right to present its proposals to voters through a manifesto, the New Straits Times reported. He said BN had chosen to base its own manifesto on realities and needs gathered directly from the grassroots through the Wakil Rakyat Untuk Rakyat (WRUR) programme.
“They have their way, and we have ours. Each has its own political ideology. We remain firm in our stance, approach and style, and will prove that we, too, can deliver the best for the people,” Ab Rauf said after visiting the BN operations room for the Ayer Molek constituency. He said earlier that BN would unveil its manifesto at about 3pm this Friday, November 6.
The Melaka State Assembly has 28 seats. BN won 21 of them in the 2021 state election, PH five and Perikatan Nasional two. The Election Commission has fixed November 10 for early voting and November 14 as polling day.
This story is based on reports by the New Straits Times and Sinar Harian. Ab Rauf’s response is from the New Straits Times, and the seat figures and election dates are from the Election Commission as reported by Astro Awani.
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