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.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 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 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.
Background The elections marked the first after United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party split. 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.Khong, (1991) Malaysia's General Election 1990: Continuity, Change, and Ethnic Politics, p1 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 At the federal level, the BN coalition under the leadership of incumbent Mahathir won 127 of the 180 parliament seats to form the federal government. Total registered voters above refer to total electorate of constituencies. Total electorate of Malaysia including two uncontested constituencies is 7958640. AMIPF candidates contested under DAP banner with the exception of AMIPF candidate of Kuala Selangor (who contested under S46). HAMIM candidate contested under S46 banner.
Semangat 46 is part of Gagasan Rakyat and Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah. Hence, for the table above, it is kept as a separate party.
Rejected Votes is 158498 and Unreturned Ballots is 31700
For the section below, invalid/blank votes includes the count of unreturned ballots. Detailed breakdown is provided under each state section.
By state Johor Rejected Votes is 26670 and Unreturned ballots is 1712
Kedah HAMIM contested under the S46 Banner
Rejected votes is 14838 and Unreturned ballots is 1292
Kelantan Rejected votes is 10173 and Unreturned ballots is 1313
Kuala Lumpur Rejected votes is 4215 and Unreturned Ballots is 4739
Labuan Rejected votes is 165 and Unreturned Ballots is 378
Malacca Rejected votes is 6284 and Unreturned Ballots is 383
Negeri Sembilan AMIPF candidate for Negeri Sembilan contested using DAP ticket
Rejected Votes is 7935 and Unreturned Ballots is 2574
Pahang Rejected votes is 11627 and Unreturned Ballots is 2197
Penang Rejected votes is 9371 and Unreturned Ballots is 1868
Perak AMIPF candidate contested under DAP banner
Rejected votes is 22514 and Unreturned Votes is 6099
Perlis Rejected Votes is 2544 and Unreturned Votes is 826
Sabah The registered voter turnout refers to total electorate of contested constituencies. Total Electorate of Sabah including one uncontested constituency (Keningau) is 543612.
Rejected Votes is 6527 and Unreturned Ballots is 1713
Sarawak The registered voter turnout refers to total electorate of contested constituencies. Total electorate of Sarawak including one uncontested constituency (Lubok Antu) is 703061.
Selangor AMIPF contested under S46 Banner
Rejected votes is 21001 and Unreturned ballots is 2006
Terengganu Rejected votes is 7063 and Unreturned ballot is 846
See also Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 8th Malaysian Parliament 1990 Malaysian state elections First premiership of Mahathir Mohamad
Notes
References
Arah Aliran Malaysia: Penilaian Pilihan Raya satu himpunan kerta kertas 62-halaman daripada Institut Penyelidikan Asia Tenggara selepas pilihan raya 1999.