KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh has been sworn in for a second term as Melaka chief minister following Barisan Nasional’s (BN) decisive victory in yesterday’s state election.
The Tanjung Bidara assemblyman took his oath of office before Melaka governor Tun Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam at Kompleks Seri Negeri in Ayer Keroh today.
His reappointment was announced last night after BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) agreed to retain him as chief minister following their combined success in securing 24 seats in the 28-member state assembly.
BN emerged as the clear winner with 21 seats, giving the coalition a two-thirds majority, while PN secured three. Pakatan Harapan (PH), represented by DAP, won the remaining four seats.
The election results also strengthened Ab Rauf’s position in his own constituency, where he retained Tanjung Bidara with a commanding majority of 8,615 votes.
This marked a substantial improvement from the 364-vote majority he recorded when he first won the seat in the 2021 state election.
The 65-year-old first became chief minister in 2023, succeeding Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali, who stepped down from the position.
Before taking over the state’s top executive post, Ab Rauf served as Melaka State Legislative Assembly Speaker from 2020 to 2021.
He was later appointed a senior state executive council member under Sulaiman’s administration following the 2021 election, amid speculation that he was being positioned as the latter’s successor.
With a fresh mandate and a stronger electoral showing, Ab Rauf now begins his second term leading a BN-dominated state government. – November 15, 2026