The victory saw Benjamin Mora’s side reach 46 points with their challenger Pahang on 30, in second place, with only four matches to go.
Nazmi Faiz Mansor opened the score for JDT in the seventh minute before import striker Diogo Luis Santo showed good control of the ball before lashing home his 10th goal of the season in the 27th minute.
Melaka’s only goal was scored by captain Muhammad Shukor Adan in the 84th minute after JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias failed to control N’Guessan Davy’s penalty kick.
At Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar, Kedah were forced to work hard before registering a 3-2 win over PJ City FC, which saw them leapfrog Selangor into third place.
Captain Baddrol Bakhtiar opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Farhan Roslan doubled it in the 49th minute to go 2-0 up.
PJ City FC mounted a second half comeback scoring twice in six minutes through Washington Brandos (60th minute) and G Ganiesh (66th minute) to tie the game at 2-2.
Spanish import Fernando Rodriguez Ortega was the hero for Kedah, scoring the winning goal in the 76th minute.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur continued their struggles in the relegation zone with a third successive defeat, losing 1-3 to Terengganu FC (TFC) at Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.
Defender Lee Tuck calmly scored a penalty in 37th minute to put TFC ahead but Kuala Lumpur’s import player Darko Markovic scored the equaliser just four minutes later.
TFC then confirmed victory by scoring twice in the second half through Muhammad Mohd Faudzi (76th minute) and Abdul Malik Mat Ariff (83rd minute).
Meanwhile, the Premier League title race raged on as Sabah headed back to the top of the table after beating Sarawak 4-1 in the ‘Borneo Derby’ at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu.
Sabah now have 34 points from 16 games, one above second-placed Johor Darul Ta’zim II (JDT II) who have already completed 17 matches.
Serbian import player Rodoljub Paunovic emerged Sabah’s hero after scoring a hat-trick (9th, 63rd and 84th minutes) while Angola international Aguinaldo Policarpo scored in the 63rd minute, with Sarawak captain Bobby Gonzalez scoring the visitor’s only goal in the 58th minute.
Meanwhile, Penang and Terengganu FC II (TFC II) both picked up three points following victories over their respective opponents.
Goals from Julian Bottaro (29th minute) and Mohamad Al Hafiz Harun (37th minute) were enough to deny Negeri Sembilan 2-1 at City Council Stadium in Penang, with the Jose Almir Barros (19th minute) scoring the visitor’s only goal.
TFC II recorded a 4-2 win over Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras.
Bruno Suzuki scored a hattrick (11th, 18th and 23rd minutes) before Ahmad Takhiyuddin Roslan scored the fourth goal for the visitors, while Mateo Roskam and Michael Chukwubunna got on the scoresheet for UKM in the 44th and 84th minutes respectively.