ALOR SETAR - Prominent leaders of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) in Kedah suffered defeats in contested seats, despite some of them being heavyweight candidates.
State BN chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid who made a comeback to contest in the Pedu state seat was defeated by the seat's incumbent Mohd Radzi Mat Amin, with a majority of 6,373 votes.
State PH chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar, who faced his challenger Radzi Mat Din for the second time also suffered a significant defeat in the Alor Mengkudu state seat, with a substantial majority of 10,104 votes.
Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh, the state Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) chairman, who competed in the Pengkalan Kundor state seat was unable to retain the seat, which was secured by Mardhiyyah Johari, a candidate from Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Meanwhile, the state DAP chairman Tan Kok Yew, similarly failed to defend the Derga seat which was won by a newcomer from Parti Bersatu Pribumi Malaysia (Bersatu) Muhammad Amri Wahab.
Former state assembly opposition leader Datuk Zamri Yusof also failed to retain the Suka Menanti seat.
The outcome of this state election was a significant blow for the PH-BN leadership, given that a significant portion of their members were defeated by fresh contenders put forth by PN.