DAP’s Tony Pua Says BERSAMA Cost PH Seats, Voters Say PH Cost Itself
DAP’s Tony Pua says BERSAMA’s candidates acted as spoilers, with their vote tallies outstripping Pakatan Harapan’s losing margins in seats that should have been winnable.
- Tony Pua blamed BERSAMA for costing PH seats, citing vote splits in Perling, Stulang, and Bukit Batu.
- Voters pushed back sharply, arguing BERSAMA voters were never PH supporters and would not have voted for them.
- Deeper grievances emerged, with former PH supporters citing broken promises, absent reps, and unresolved controversies as reasons for switching.
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DAP’s Tony Pua has broken down the Johor state election results with unusual candour — congratulating his coalition on surviving, while pointing a direct finger at BERSAMA for costing Pakatan Harapan seats it could have won.
But the public response was swift, pointed, and largely unsympathetic.
Pua did not mince words on BERSAMA.
In Perling, Pakatan lost by approximately 1,800 votes — while BERSAMA’s candidate pulled nearly 3,000.
In Stulang, Pakatan scraped through with a majority of just 600, with BERSAMA again eating into the margin. In Bukit Batu, PKR lost the seat outright.
“A vote for BERSAMA is effectively a vote to let BN win more seats,” Pua wrote.
The former Petaling Jaya Utara and Damansara MP also acknowledged the structural disadvantage from the start — Johor is UMNO’s strongest state, and PAS had strategically directed its members to back BN in uncontested seats, making an already difficult fight harder.
The Pushback: “Those Votes Were Never Yours”
Pua, who is also DAP’s Disciplinary Committee chairman, set his own benchmark before polling day: retaining seven of 10 seats would be a good result.
Pakatan held six, which he called “credible” — but not great.
The comment section told a different story.
The dominant counter-argument, repeated across dozens of responses: those BERSAMA votes were never PH’s to begin with.
Commenters argued that without BERSAMA on the ballot, those voters would have stayed home — or worse, voted BN in protest.
“Without BERSAMA, BN will have more vote majority and you’ll get even lesser votes instead,” wrote one commenter.
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“Look In The Mirror First”
Several others were more direct. “Don’t call people spoilers. No one has the obligation to vote for you. It’s a democratic nation.”
Another added: “A vote for BERSAMA is a message to PH to stop taking voters for granted.”
One data-driven dissent stood out.
Commenter and veteran journalist Andrew Sia cited analysis showing BERSAMA only materially affected two marginal seats — and argued the bigger factor was PN votes consolidating behind BN.
PH must look in the mirror and ask how it can improve, not blame others.
The Deeper Grievance: Broken Promises, Familiar Faces Gone
Beneath the pushback on BERSAMA was something more pointed — former PH supporters explaining, in plain terms, why they left.
“I voted DAP for two terms. Never saw the rep after winning. Switched back to BN,” wrote one Tangkak voter.
Others invoked unresolved controversies — former Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Tan Sri Azam Baki, the pace of reform, cost-of-living pressures — as evidence that PH had not delivered on its promises.
The sentiment was less about BN being good and more about PH failing to be better.
Several commenters named Pua and DAP deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming as liabilities, urging them to take a lower profile ahead of the Negeri Sembilan election.
“One finger points at others. Four fingers point back at you,” was among the most-repeated lines.
@chabeezee DAP CONFIRM KALAH!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 #RumahBangsaJohor #JohorTerusMaju #JohorMilikKita #JohorModelMalaysia #chabee40 ♬ original sound – Chabeezee
14 Assemblymen Walked Out; Now Voters Decide In Negeri Sembilan
Pua closed with a forward look: Negeri Sembilan is next, where he noted the political landscape is “very different.”
He is not wrong; the Negeri Sembilan snap election — scheduled for 1 August — was triggered by a political collapse, not a routine dissolution.
Though PH and BN initially formed a 31-seat coalition government following the 2023 election, all 14 BN assemblymen subsequently withdrew their support from Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
That left the PH state government short of the 19 seats needed for a simple majority, forcing the snap poll.
Nomination day is officially scheduled for 18 July, but the commenters were already watching.
“N9 will show you the meaning of BUNGKUS,” wrote one.
“We’re watching you closely — just like we did before Johor PRN,” said another.
READ MORE: Nga Kor Ming: I Said What I Said, But Not What You Think I Said
READ MORE: [Watch] Shorts Too Short: Mother And Daughter Nearly Blocked From Voting In Johor
READ MORE: High Turnout, Wrong Address: Johor’s Complicated Election Day
READ MORE: Former DAP Analyst Sees BN Sweeping Johor, He Also Sees What Comes Next
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