1990 Malaysian general election

1990 Malaysian general election

20 October 1990 (1990-10-20) - 21 October 1990 (1990-10-21)
All 180 seats to the Dewan Rakyat 91 seats needed for a majority
Registered	8,000,000
Turnout	5,751,725 (72.3%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Mahathir Mohamad Lim Kit Siang Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah Party BN DAP Semangat 46 Leader since 28 June 1981 1 October 1969 1989 Leader's seat Kubang Pasu Tanjong Gua Musang Last election 148 seats, 57.3% 24 seats, 21.1% New Party Seats won 127 20 8 Seat change 21 4 Popular vote 2,985,392 985,228 826,398 Percentage 53.4% 17.1% 14.8% Swing 3.9% 4.0%   Fourth party Fifth party   PAS Leader Fadzil Noor Joseph Pairin Kitingan Party PAS PBS Leader since 1989 5 March 1985 Leader's seat No seat Keningau Last election 1 seat, 15.5% 10 seats (part of Barisan Nasional) Seats won 7 14 Seat change 6 4 Popular vote 391,813 128,260 Percentage 7.0% 2.3% Swing 9.5%
Prime Minister before election Mahathir Mohamad BN Prime Minister-designate Mahathir Mohamad BN

A general election was held between Saturday, 20 October and Sunday, 21 October 1990 for members of the 8th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 180 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 351 state constituencies in 11 (out of 13, except Sabah and Sarawak) states of Malaysia on the same day.

The result was a victory for the Barisan Nasional (BN) at the federal level and 10 of the 11 state elections. The opposition alliance Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) won a landslide victory over BN in the state of Kelantan, winning all 39 state assembly seats. Voter turnout was 72.3%.

Background

The elections marked the first after United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party split and the subsequent constitutional crisis in 1988. The reconstituted UMNO Baru (New UMNO), led by incumbent Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and the newly formed Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46), led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, contested for the first time in the elections.

It also marked the first time in country general election history when a credible, multi-ethnic coalition have been formed the challenge the dominance of Barisan Nasional. This also lead the country political scene from a dominant party system into two party system. The Muslim opposition parties, Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Semangat 46, Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (BERJASA) and Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia (HAMIM) teamed up to form the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU). On the other hand, Semangat 46, Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which withdrew from the Barisan Nasional (BN) at the eleventh hour of the general election, teamed up as Gagasan Rakyat. However, these two opposition alliances cooperated in the election but not openly due to the sensitivity of the secular DAP and the Islamic PAS working together.

Results

Dewan Rakyat

At the federal level, the BN coalition under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad won 127 of the 180 parliament seats to form the federal government.

State Assemblies

Main article: 1990 Malaysian state elections

At the state level, the BN won 10 out of the 11 state elections. The APU won all 39 state seats in Kelantan to form the state government, with 24 seats going to PAS and 15 for Semangat 46.

References

• Arah Aliran Malaysia: Penilaian Pilihan Raya satu himpunan kerta kertas 62-halaman daripada Institut Penyelidikan Asia Tenggara selepas pilihan raya 1999.