Malaysian general election, 1999
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Malaysian General Election was held on 29 November 1999 as stipulated by the laws of Malaysia for general elections. As expected, the Barisan Nasional
coalition maintained its majority in parliament
, and thus, its grip on the post of Prime Minister
.
However, due to the Anwar Ibrahim
scandal, the win was one of the lowest experienced by the ruling coalition over the years, since independence, with the exception of the 1969 general election
.
Summary of the 29 November 1999 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat
election results
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% of vote
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% of seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|+/–
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left| Barisan Nasional
(National Front): || 3,748,511 || 56.53 || 147 || 76.56 ||19
|-
|align=left|United Malays National Organization (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu, UMNO) || - || - || 71 || 36.98 || 22
|-
|align=left|Malaysian Chinese Association
(Persatuan Cina Malaysia, MCA) || - || - || 29 || 15.10 || -
|-
|align=left|Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongres India Se-Malaysia, MIC) || - || - || 7 || 3.65 || -
|-
|align=left|Malaysian People's Movement Party (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Gerakan) || - || - || 6 || 3.13 ||
|-
|align="left" |People's Progressive Party
(Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia, PPP)|| - || - || - || - || -
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCOCB"
|align=left|Parties in Sarawak
|| - || - || 28 || 14.58 ||
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCOCB"
|align="left" |Parties in Sabah
|| - || - || 6 || 3.13 ||
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left|Barisan Alternatif
(Alternative Front): || 2,667,818 || 40.23 || 42 || 21.88 ||26
|-
|align=left|Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam SeMalaysia, PAS) || 994,279 || 14.99 || 27 || 14.06 || 19
|-
|align=left|Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik, DAP) || 830,870 || 12.53 || 10 || 5.21 ||3
|-
|align=left|National Justice Party (Keadilan)1 || 773,679 || 11.67 || 5 || 2.60 || 1
|-
|align="left" |Parti Rakyat Malaysia
(PRM) || 68,990 || 1.04 || 0 || 0.00 || 0
|-
|align="left" |Parti Bersatu Sabah
(PBS)2 || 143,342 || 2.16 || 3 || 1.56 || 5
|-
|align="left" |State Reform Party2 || 23,354 || 0.35 || 0 || 0 ||
|-
|align="left" |Malaysian Democratic Party
(Parti Liberal Demokratik, LDP)|| 8,001 || 0.12 || 0 || 0.0 ||
|-
|align="left" |BERJASA
|| 409 || 0.01 || 0 || 0 ||
|-
|align="left" |Parti Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (AKIM)|| 274 || 0.00 || 0 || 0.0 ||
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left| Non-partisans || 39,385 || 0.59 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left| Overall total || 6,631,094 || 100 || 192 || 100 || N/A
|-
|align=left colspan=6|
1This is the first election taken part by KeADILan
2Pending to join Barisan Alternatif, but STAR have managed to negotiate with the component parties of BA over all the seats in Sarawak, while PBS could not fully manage the negotiation in Sabah.
|}
and Terengganu
, the PAS won by a huge margin–41-2 against Barisan Nasional out of a total of 43 seats and 28-4 out of a total of 32 seats respectively, hence allowing them to form the state governments in these states. In addition, PAS also captured one-third of the state seats in Kedah
, with the remaining two-thirds going to Barisan Nasional (UMNO won 16 seats, MCA 2 seats in Kedah).
The election results were seen as a great gain for PAS, who previously had no state seats in Kedah and capturing only one seat in Terengganu in the 1995 General Elections. Observers attributed this to the negelect by the Federal Administration in the states of Terengganu and Kelantan.
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
coalition maintained its majority in parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
, and thus, its grip on the post of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
.
However, due to the Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
scandal, the win was one of the lowest experienced by the ruling coalition over the years, since independence, with the exception of the 1969 general election
Malaysian general election, 1969
General elections were held in Malaysia on 10 May 1969, although voting was postponed until between 21 and 27 June in Sabah and Sarawak. It resulted in the return to power, with a reduced majority, of the ruling Alliance Party, comprising the United Malays National Organization , the Malayan...
.
Parliamentary results
6,631,094 out of 9,564,071 registered voters cast their vote in this election. Although Barisan Nasional maintained its majority in Parliament, its overall popular vote dropped to roughly 56%. The parliamentary results are as follows:Summary of the 29 November 1999 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...
election results
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% of vote
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% of seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|+/–
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left| Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
(National Front): || 3,748,511 || 56.53 || 147 || 76.56 ||19
|-
|align=left|United Malays National Organization (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu, UMNO) || - || - || 71 || 36.98 || 22
|-
|align=left|Malaysian Chinese Association
Malaysian Chinese Association
Malaysian Chinese Association is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that represents the Malaysian Chinese ethnicity; it is one of the three major component parties of the ruling coalition in Malaysia called the Barisan Nasional in Malay, or National Front in English.Along with the largest...
(Persatuan Cina Malaysia, MCA) || - || - || 29 || 15.10 || -
|-
|align=left|Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongres India Se-Malaysia, MIC) || - || - || 7 || 3.65 || -
|-
|align=left|Malaysian People's Movement Party (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Gerakan) || - || - || 6 || 3.13 ||
|-
|align="left" |People's Progressive Party
People's Progressive Party (Malaysia)
The People's Progressive Party is a political party in Malaysia.The party is one of the constituent members of the ruling National Front and is a multiracial party.-History:...
(Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia, PPP)|| - || - || - || - || -
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCOCB"
|align=left|Parties in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
|| - || - || 28 || 14.58 ||
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCOCB"
|align="left" |Parties in Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
|| - || - || 6 || 3.13 ||
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left|Barisan Alternatif
Barisan Alternatif
Barisan Alternatif was a coalition of Malaysian opposition parties, formed as a counterweight to the ruling Barisan Nasional...
(Alternative Front): || 2,667,818 || 40.23 || 42 || 21.88 ||26
|-
|align=left|Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam SeMalaysia, PAS) || 994,279 || 14.99 || 27 || 14.06 || 19
|-
|align=left|Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik, DAP) || 830,870 || 12.53 || 10 || 5.21 ||3
|-
|align=left|National Justice Party (Keadilan)1 || 773,679 || 11.67 || 5 || 2.60 || 1
|-
|align="left" |Parti Rakyat Malaysia
Parti Rakyat Malaysia
The Parti Rakyat Malaysia is a democratic socialist political party in Malaysia. Established on November 11, 1955 as Partai Ra'ayat, it is one of the older political parties in Malaysia and traces its pedigree to the anti-colonial movements from the pre World War II period like the Kesatuan Melayu...
(PRM) || 68,990 || 1.04 || 0 || 0.00 || 0
|-
|align="left" |Parti Bersatu Sabah
Parti Bersatu Sabah
The Parti Bersatu Sabah is a political party in Sabah, east Malaysia. It was registered as a political party on March 5, 1985...
(PBS)2 || 143,342 || 2.16 || 3 || 1.56 || 5
|-
|align="left" |State Reform Party2 || 23,354 || 0.35 || 0 || 0 ||
|-
|align="left" |Malaysian Democratic Party
Malaysian Democratic Party
The Malaysian Democratic Party was a political party in Malaysia formed by Wee Choo Keong in 1998, after he was expelled from Democratic Action Party due to his fall-out and failed revolt against then secretary-general Lim Kit Siang....
(Parti Liberal Demokratik, LDP)|| 8,001 || 0.12 || 0 || 0.0 ||
|-
|align="left" |BERJASA
Pan Malaysian Islamic Front
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Front is a political party in Malaysia....
|| 409 || 0.01 || 0 || 0 ||
|-
|align="left" |Parti Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (AKIM)|| 274 || 0.00 || 0 || 0.0 ||
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left| Non-partisans || 39,385 || 0.59 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align=left| Overall total || 6,631,094 || 100 || 192 || 100 || N/A
|-
|align=left colspan=6|
1This is the first election taken part by KeADILan
2Pending to join Barisan Alternatif, but STAR have managed to negotiate with the component parties of BA over all the seats in Sarawak, while PBS could not fully manage the negotiation in Sabah.
- Source: The Star: Election 1999
|}
State assembly results
The opposition won a total of 113 state assembly seats, 98 of which went to the PAS, 11 to the DAP and 4 for Keadilan. In the states of KelantanKelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
and Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
, the PAS won by a huge margin–41-2 against Barisan Nasional out of a total of 43 seats and 28-4 out of a total of 32 seats respectively, hence allowing them to form the state governments in these states. In addition, PAS also captured one-third of the state seats in Kedah
Kedah
Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
, with the remaining two-thirds going to Barisan Nasional (UMNO won 16 seats, MCA 2 seats in Kedah).
The election results were seen as a great gain for PAS, who previously had no state seats in Kedah and capturing only one seat in Terengganu in the 1995 General Elections. Observers attributed this to the negelect by the Federal Administration in the states of Terengganu and Kelantan.
External links
- South Asia Analysis Group synopsis of the 1999 election results.
- Trends in Malaysia: Election Assessment (PDF) a 62 pages collection of papers from Institute of Southeast Asian Studies after the 1999 election.