General elections were held in Malaysia on 20 and 21 October 1990. 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.[ 1] 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.
1990 Malaysian general election Registered 7,958,641
The result was a victory for the Barisan Nasional (BN) at the federal level and state except state of Kelantan with opposition alliance Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) winning all 39 state assembly seats with 24 seats going to PAS and 15 for Semangat 46.[ 2]
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 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 .[ 3] 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.
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.
Party or alliance Votes % Seats +/– Barisan Nasional United Malays National Organisation 2,985,392 53.38 71 –12 Malaysian Chinese Association 18 +1 Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu 10 +2 Malaysian Indian Congress 6 0 United Sabah National Organisation 6 +1 Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 5 0 Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak 4 –1 Sarawak United Peoples' Party 4 0 Sarawak National Party 3 –1 People's Progressive Party 0 0 Total 127 –21 Angkatan Semangat 46 842,342 15.06 8 New Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 375,869 6.72 7 +6 Total 1,218,211 21.78 15 +14 Gagasan Rakyat Democratic Action Party 985,228 17.61 20 –4 United Sabah Party 128,260 2.29 14 +4 Total 1,113,488 19.91 34 0 Parti Rakyat Malaysia 56,462 1.01 0 0 Sarawak Malaysian People's Association 35,310 0.63 0 New People's Justice Front 12,655 0.23 0 New Sarawak United Labour Party 162 0.00 0 0 Independents 171,547 3.07 4 0 Total 5,593,227 100.00 180 +3 Valid votes 5,593,227 97.24 Invalid/blank votes 158,498 2.76 Total votes 5,751,725 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 7,958,641 72.27 Source: Nohlen et al ., CLEA , IPU
Party or alliance Votes % Seats +/– Barisan Nasional United Malays National Organisation 426,854 61.49 12 0 Malaysian Chinese Association 5 0 Malaysian Indian Congress 1 0 Total 18 0 Semangat 46 142,227 20.49 0 New Democratic Action Party 104,840 15.10 0 0 Parti Rakyat Malaysia 17,583 2.53 0 0 Independents 2,707 0.39 0 0 Total 694,211 100.00 18 0 Valid votes 694,211 96.30 Invalid/blank votes 26,670 3.70 Total votes 720,881 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 972,171 74.15
Party or alliance Votes % Seats +/– Barisan Nasional United Malays National Organisation 258,834 53.64 12 0 Malaysian Chinese Association 41,871 8.68 2 0 Total 300,705 62.32 14 0 Semangat 46 99,007 20.52 0 New Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 76,936 15.94 0 0 Democratic Action Party 5,360 1.11 0 0 Independents 537 0.11 0 0 Total 482,545 100.00 14 0 Valid votes 482,545 97.02 Invalid/blank votes 14,838 2.98 Total votes 497,383 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 657,322 75.67
Party or alliance Votes % Seats +/– Barisan Nasional United Malays National Organisation 153,723 43.11 3 0 Democratic Action Party 141,724 39.75 4 0 Semangat 46 33,417 9.37 0 New Parti Rakyat Malaysia 25,259 7.08 0 0 Independents 2,432 0.68 0 0 Total 356,555 100.00 7 0 Valid votes 356,555 98.83 Invalid/blank votes 4,215 1.17 Total votes 360,770 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 527,834 68.35
Party or alliance Votes % Seats +/– Barisan Nasional United Malays National Organisation 85,315 20.38 4 0 Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 64,485 15.40 1 0 Malaysian Chinese Association 63,732 15.22 0 0 Total 213,532 51.00 5 0 Democratic Action Party 170,053 40.61 6 0 Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 14,322 3.42 0 0 Parti Rakyat Malaysia 13,620 3.25 0 0 Semangat 46 7,174 1.71 0 New Total 418,701 100.00 11 0 Valid votes 418,701 97.81 Invalid/blank votes 9,371 2.19 Total votes 428,072 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 559,223 76.55
Party or alliance Votes % Seats +/– Barisan Nasional United Malays National Organisation 391,628 56.17 11 0 Malaysian Chinese Association 3 0 Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 3 0 Malaysian Indian Congress 2 0 Total 19 0 Democratic Action Party 186,147 26.70 4 0 Semangat 46 82,971 11.90 0 0 Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 33,955 4.87 0 0 Independents 2,516 0.36 0 0 Total 697,217 100.00 23 0 Valid votes 697,217 96.87 Invalid/blank votes 22,514 3.13 Total votes 719,731 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 1,031,381 69.78
^ Dieter Nohlen , Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II , p152 ISBN 0-19-924959-8 ^ Francis Kok-Wah Loh; Francis Loh Kok Wah; Boo Teik Khoo; Khoo Boo Teik (2002). Democracy in Malaysia: Discourses and Practices . Routledge . p. 95. ISBN 0-7007-1161-9 ^ Khong, (1991) Malaysia's General Election 1990: Continuity, Change, and Ethnic Politics , p1 ISBN 981-3035-77-3
