JOHOR BAHRU, July 11 -- Pakatan Harapan (PH) has admitted defeat in the Johor state election after securing only eight of the 56 seats contested.

The Election Commission's (EC) unofficial tally showed Barisan Nasional (BN) winning 48 seats, paving the way for the coalition to retain the Johor government with a commanding supermajority.

At a press conference tonight, PH Johor state election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari acknowledged the coalition's disappointing performance.

"Yes, (we were) a bit shocked for certain seats we expected to win, but we will definitely go back to identify the real issues and voter trends," he said.

Amirudin said PH had secured eight seats based on the EC results available as of 9.50pm, with DAP winning...