"PH's performance-based campaign did not receive the response it deserved and was instead treated lightly," he told a press conference at the PH operations centre here tonight.

He said the dominant issue throughout the campaign was the narrative that Malays needed to unite against what was portrayed as a threat from the DAP, resulting in the government's achievements and the performance of PH candidates not being the main consideration for many voters.

"We presented lengthy arguments about our performance, but UMNO, Barisan Nasional (BN), and Perikatan Nasional (PN) responded simply with 'DAP'. So, this is very disappointing," he said.

Nevertheless, Khalid said Amanah would continue working with PH to promote performance-based politics by encouraging the public, particularly the Malay community, to evaluate political parties based on their track record and governing capability rather than racial sentiment.

"Our hope and aspiration are to foster greater political maturity and understanding among the Malay community so that performance becomes an important consideration. This is a continuous battle and a continuous effort to educate the public," he said.

Based on unofficial results tonight, PH won 11 of the 36 seats it contested, while Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) secured 18 and seven seats respectively.

A total of 859,760 registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the election, including 7,391 postal voters. As of 4 pm, the Election Commission (EC) recorded voter turnout at 65.38 per cent, equivalent to 562,133 voters.

-- BERNAMA