COMMENT | The upcoming by-election in Kuala Kubu Baharu, a semi-urban seat located in the Hulu Selangor district, will provide one of the toughest electoral challenges to DAP, Pakatan Harapan coalition and to this coalition government since the state elections of 2023.

The results on May 11 will be very close and if DAP were to retain this seat, it would be very close, by a margin of less than 1,000 votes, compared to the 4,119 winning majority in the 2023 six state elections.

The political environment does not favour Harapan at the moment but with a well-coordinated campaign strategy and messaging, DAP may just pass this test by a small margin.

The Kuala Kubur Baharu state seat was first won by the late Lee Kee Hiong of the DAP in the 2013 general election with 52.3 percent of the vote – with a majority of 1,702 votes.

With the Malay vote swinging in favour of Harapan in...