The 2021 Malacca state election, formally the 15th Malacca state election, took place on 20 November 2021. This election was to elect 28 members of the 15th Malacca State Legislative Assembly. The previous assembly was dissolved on 4 October 2021.
The snap election of the state was called prematurely following a political crisis. It came after four members of the assembly (MLA) who had previously supported incumbent Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali announced the loss of confidence and withdrawal of their support for him on 4 October 2021. They are former Chief Minister, Member of the State Executive Council (EXCO), Sungai Udang MLA Idris Haron and Pantai Kundor MLA Nor Azman Hassan from BN, independent (IND) EXCO member, Pengkalan Batu MLA Norhizam Hassan Baktee as well as EXCO member, Telok Mas MLA Noor Effandi Ahmad from PN.
Malacca became the fourth state in Malaysia (since 2021) that did not hold a state election simultaneously with the general election after Sabah (1967–1999 and since 2020), Sarawak (since 1979), and Kelantan (March 1978). This is also the first election following Ismail Sabri Yaakob's appointment as Prime Minister on 21 August 2021 and also the first state election held in the Malay Peninsula since the fall of the Pakatan Harapan state and federal governments in 2020.
This election was unique because it featured two major coalition parties in the government, namely Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional, competing against each other. BN, through UMNO, had announced that it would not cooperate with Perikatan Nasional, led by Parti Peribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU). Such competition between former coalition partners had previously only occurred in East Malaysia.
Barisan Nasional (BN) won a landslide victory in the state election, winning 21 seats in the legislature and a two-thirds majority. Pakatan Harapan (PH) suffered a major defeat, winning just 5 seats, with the People's Justice Party (PKR) losing all its contested seats. Perikatan Nasional (PN) won 2 seats.
Constituencies
Composition before dissolution Government OppositionBNPNPHIND121114121722UMNOBERSATUDAPAMANAHPKRIND
Electoral system Elections in Malaysia are conducted at the federal and state levels. Federal elections elect members of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state elections in each of the 13 states elect members of their respective state legislative assembly. As Malaysia follows the Westminster system of government, the head of government (Prime Minister at the federal level and the Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers at the state level) is the person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the respective legislature – this is normally the leader of the party or coalition with the majority of seats in the legislature.
The Legislative Assembly consists of 28 members, known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), that are elected for five-year terms. Each MLA is elected from a single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post voting system; each constituency contains approximately an equal number of voters. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the government, with its leader becoming the Chief Minister. In the event of a hung parliament, where no single party obtains the majority of seats, the government may still form through a coalition or a confidence and supply agreement with other parties. In practice, coalitions and alliances in Malaysia, and by extension, in Malacca, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats.
Political parties
Coalition(s)Other partiesGovernmentOppositionBarisan Nasional (BN) Perikatan Nasional (PN) Pakatan Harapan (PH) Malaysian Mighty Bumiputera Party (PUTRA) National Indian Muslim Alliance Party (IMAN) United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Bersatu) Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) Democratic Action Party (DAP) National Trust Party (Amanah) People's Justice Party (PKR)
Retiring incumbent The following members of the 14th State Legislative Assembly retired. No.Federal ConstituencyDeparting MLAPartyDate confirmedFirst electedReasonN02Tanjung BidaraMd Rawi MahmudBN (UMNO)10 October 20212013Not seeking re-electionN01Kuala LinggiIsmail OthmanBN (UMNO)4 November 20212008No nomination by the partyN03Ayer LimauAmiruddin YusopBN (UMNO)N05Taboh NaningLatipah OmarBN (UMNO)N10AsahanAbdul Ghafar AtanBN (UMNO)2004N25RimGhazale MuhamadBN (UMNO)2008N27MerlimauRoslan AhmadBN (UMNO)2011N28Sungai RambaiHasan Abd RahmanBN (UMNO)2008N24BembanWong Fort PinPH (DAP)5 November 20212018N08Machap JayaGinie Lim Siew LinPH (PKR)6 November 2021N23Telok MasNoor Effandi AhmadIND8 November 2021Not seeking re-election
Timeline DateEvent5 October 2021Dissolution of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly18 October 2021Issue of the Writ of Election8 November 2021Nomination day8–20 November 2021Campaigning period16–19 November 2021Early voting for postal, overseas and advance voters20 November 2021Polling day
Pre-nomination events DateEvent4 October 2021Four Malacca assemblymen declared that they have lost confidence in Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali's leadership. The assemblymen are former Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron, Nor Azman Hassan, Norhizam Hassan Baktee and Noor Effandi Ahmad. Idris said the move was due to a series of decisions not implemented by the state government, which he added portrayed Malacca as a 'flip flop' state. The membership of Idris Haron and Nor Azman Hassan in UMNO was automatically dropped after being involved in the movement to overthrow the existing Malacca State Government.5 October 2021Malacca Assembly speaker disclosed that Malacca Chief Minister, Sulaiman Md Ali, took steps to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly starting 4 October 2021, in an effort to resolve the political crisis in the state. The dissolution of the state assembly was made after Sulaiman lost the majority of support, following the actions of four state assemblymen from the government bloc, withdrawing support for his leadership yesterday. The decision to dissolve the state assembly was made after the proposal submitted by Sulaiman received the approval of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Mohd Ali Rustam. Malacca PN chief Rafiq Naizmohideen announced immediate loss of Noor Effandi Ahmad's membership in BERSATU. The declaration was made due to his apparent cooperation with PH by being together with PH in a previous press conference on 4 October.10 October 2021 Tanjung Bidara State Assemblyman Md Rawi Mahmud announces that he will not defend his constituency in the upcoming election.18 October 2021The Malaysian Election Commission sets 8 November as the nomination day and 20 November as the polling day; this provides for a minimum campaigning period of 12 days.2 November 2021 A former member of the navy, Mohan Singh Booda Singh has announced his intention to contest as an Independent for the Gadek state constituency.5 November 2021 Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH, names its candidates for 8 of the state constituencies in Malacca, namely Gadek, Pengkalan Batu, Ayer Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Duyong, Bandar Hilir, and Bemban.6 November 2021Barisan Nasional (BN) states that it will be contesting in all of the state constituencies in Malacca, and announces its candidates for the 28 seats. Malaysia Mighty Bumiputera Party (PUTRA) announces its candidates for 5 of the state constituencies.National Indian Muslim Alliance Party (IMAN) announces its sole electoral candidate, who will contest the Machap Jaya state constituency. Pakatan Harapan (PH) states that it will be contesting in all of the state constituencies in Malacca, and announces its candidates for the 20 seats. Perikatan Nasional (PN) states that it will be contesting in all of the state constituencies in Malacca, and announces its candidates for the 28 seats.7 November 2021 Pengkalan Batu MLA Norhizam Hassan Baktee announces that he will retain his seat as an independent candidate.
Electoral candidates