2004 Malaysian general election

2004 Malaysian general election

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All 219 seats to the Dewan Rakyat 110 seats needed for a majority
Registered	9,756,097
Turnout	6,916,138 (73.9%)
First party Second party Third party   DAP Leader Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Abdul Hadi Awang Kerk Kim Hock Party BN Barisan Alternatif DAP Leader since 31 October 2003 (2003-10-31) 2003 December 1999 Leader's seat Kepala Batas Marang (lost seat) Kota Melaka (lost seat) Last election 148 seats, 56.5% 42 seats, 40.2%[1] 10 seats, 12.5% Seats won 198 8 12 Seat change 50 34 2 Popular vote 4,420,452 1,668,998 687,340 Percentage 63.9% 24.1% 9.9% Swing 7.4% 16.1% 2.6%
Prime Minister before election Abdullah Ahmad Badawi BN Prime Minister-designate Abdullah Ahmad Badawi BN

A general election was held on Sunday, 21 March 2004 for members of the 11th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 219 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. This is first election for Abdullah as Prime Minister since appointed for this position in 2003. State elections also took place in 505 state constituencies in 12 out of 13 states of Malaysia (except Sarawak) on the same day as Sabah took the first time election was parallel with the rest of Peninsular Malaysia.

Election results[]

The National Front gained a popular vote of 63.9%, but would have gained a higher vote had all seats been contested. Reports in the Malaysian media 23 March showed the Front winning 198 parliamentary seats to the combined opposition parties' 20 seats, with one independent. This is the largest majority that National Front has won since the 1978 elections.

The dominant party in the National Front, the Prime Minister's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), won 109 seats, a gain of 32. UMNO's allies also gained seats. The Malaysian Chinese Association won 31 seats, a gain of two, and the Malaysian Indian Congress won nine seats, a gain of two.

Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) managed to retain only seven of its 27 seats. PAS ran on a platform promising an Islamic nation. The PAS opposition leader, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, lost his parliamentary seat.

Another opposition party, the People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Nasional) lost four of its five seats. After five recounts the party's leader, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (the wife of imprisoned former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), retained her seat with a majority of 590 votes.

The third opposition party, the Democratic Action Party, which was routed in the 1999 elections, improved its performance with the re-election of party chairman Lim Kit Siang at Ipoh Timor seat and his deputy, Karpal Singh at Bukit Gelugor seat while chairman Kerk Kim Hock lost his seat. The DAP won 12 seats and regained the official leadership of the opposition in the national parliament from PAS.

Most candidates who campaigned on platforms of Islamic issues lost their seats. This is a significant turnaround since the last election where, generally, the more "Islamic" candidates had a greater chance of winning in the Malay heartland.

Results[]

Dewan Rakyat[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results

Party				Vote		Seats
				Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	4,454,215	63.85	198	90.41	50
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	2,489,532	35.69	109	49.77	37
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	1,074,291	15.40	31	14.16	2
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan	257,663	3.69	10	4.57	4
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	221,546	3.18	9	4.11	2
		Sarawak United People's Party	SUPP	101,869	1.46	6	2.74	1
		United Traditional Bumiputera Party	PBB	80,408	1.15	11	5.02
		United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation	UPKO	55,117	0.79	4	1.83	1
		Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party	SPDP	50,350	0.72	4	1.83	New
		Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak	PBDS	46,292	0.66	6	2.74
		United Sabah Party	PBS	26,504	0.38	4	1.83	1
		People's Progressive Party	PPP	20,129	0.29	1	0.46	1
		Sabah Progressive Party	SAPP	16,426	0.24	2	0.91
		Liberal Democratic Party	LDP	8,208	0.12	0	0.00	1
		United Sabah People's Party	PBRS	5,880	0.08	1	0.46	1
	Parties in the informal coalition, Alternative Front		BA	1,672,350	23.97	8	3.65	34
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party[b]		PAS	1,069,569	15.33	7	3.20	20
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	702,243	10.07	12	5.48	2
	People's Justice Party[b]		PKR	602,781	8.64	1	0.46	4
	Sarawak National Party		SNAP	28,579	0.41	0	0.00	4
	State Reform Party		STAR	6,270	0.09	0	0.00
	United Democratic Sabah People's Power Party		SETIA	2,143	0.03	0	0.00	New
	Malaysian Democratic Party		MDP	1,107	0.02	0	0.00
	United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation		PASOK	543	0.00	0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND	108,096	1.55	1	0.46	1
Valid votes				6,975,546
Invalid/blank votes				293,810
Total votes (voter turnout: 73.9%)				7,269,356	100.00	219	100.00	+26
Did not vote				2,486,741
Registered voters				9,756,097
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)				13,802,493
Malaysian population				23,092,940
Source: Nohlen et al. [1]

Results by state[]

Johor[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Johor

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	26			26	100.00	+6
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	16			16	61.54	+3
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	8			8	30.77	+2
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	1			1	3.85	0
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan	1			1	3.85	New
	Democratic Action Party		DAP				0	0.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	26	100.00	+6
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Kedah[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Kedah

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	15	388,943	59.76	14	93.33	+7
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	13	334,295	51.36	12	80.00	+7
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2	54,648	8.40	2	13.33	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	10	184,850	28.40	1	6.67	-7
	People's Justice Party		PKR	5	77,102	11.85	0	0.00	0
Valid votes					650,895
Invalid/blank votes					14,802
Total votes (voter turnout: 81.00%)					665,697	100.00	15	100.00	0
Did not vote					156,195
Registered voters					821,892
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Kelantan[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Kelantan

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	14	260,524	49.96	8	57.14	+7
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	14	260,524	49.96	8	57.14	+7
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	11	201,955	38.73	6	42.86	-4
	People's Justice Party		PKR	3	52,824	10.13	0	0.00	-3
	Independents		IND	1	6,198	1.19	0	0.00	0
Valid votes					521,501
Invalid/blank votes					13,562
Total votes (voter turnout: 80.74%)					535,063	100.00	14	100.00	0
Did not vote					127,650
Registered voters					662,713
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Kuala Lumpur[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Kuala Lumpur

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00		100.00
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Labuan[]

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Malacca[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Malacca

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	6			6	100.00	+2
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	4			4	66.67	+1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2			2	33.33	+1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP				0	0.00	-1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	6	100.00	+1
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Negeri Sembilan[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Negeri Sembilan

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	8			8	100.00	+1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	5			5	62.50	+1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2			2	25.00	0
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	1			1	12.50	0
	Democratic Action Party		DAP				0	0.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	8	100.00	+1
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Pahang[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Pahang

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	14			14	100.00	+3
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	10			10	71.43	+2
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	3			3	21.43	0
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	1			1	7.14	New
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	14	100.00	+3
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Penang[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Penang

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	13	284,110	56.85	8	61.54	+2
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	5	108,498	21.71	4	30.77	+1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	4	87,822	17.57	1	7.69	0
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan	4	87,790	17.57	3	23.08	+1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	7	135,125	27.04	4	30.77	0
	People's Justice Party		PKR	5	61,410	12.29	1	7.69	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	2	19,109	3.82	0	0.00	0
Valid votes					499,754
Invalid/blank votes					11,540
Total votes (voter turnout: 76.05%)					511,294	100.00	13	100.00	+2
Did not vote					161,058
Registered voters					672,352
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Perak[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Perak

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	24			21	87.50	+1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO				11	45.83	+2
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA				4	16.67	-2
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan				3	12.50	0
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC				2	8.33	0
		People's Progressive Party	PPP				1	4.17	+1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP				3	12.50	+2
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS				0	0.00	-2
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	24	100.00	+1
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Perlis[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Perlis

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	3	58,188	63.72	3	100.00	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	3	58,188	63.72	3	100.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	3	33,132	36.28	0	0.00	0
Valid votes					91,320
Invalid/blank votes					2,290
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					93,610	100.00	3	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Putrajaya[]

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Sabah[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Sabah

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	25			24	96.00	+7
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO				13	52.00	-1
		United Sabah Party	PBS				4	16.00	+1
		United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation	UPKO				4	16.00	New
		Sabah Progressive Party	SAPP				2	8.00	0
		United Sabah People's Party	PBRS				1	4.00	New
		Liberal Democratic Party	LDP				0	0.00	-1
	Independents		IND				1	4.00	+1
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	25	100.00	+5
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Sabah's population
Source:

Sarawak[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Sarawak

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	28	278,919	65.85	27	96.43	-1
		Sarawak United People's Party	SUPP	7	101,869	24.05	6	21.43	-1
		United Traditional Bumiputera Party	PBB	11	80,408	18.98	11	39.29	0
		Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party	SPDP	4	50,350	11.89	4	14.29	New
		Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak	PBDS	6	46,292	10.93	6	21.43	0
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	5	67,631	15.97	1	3.57	+1
	Sarawak National Party		SNAP	7	28,579	6.75	0	0.00	-4
	State Reform Party		STAR	1	6,270	1.48	0	0.00	0
	People's Justice Party		PKR	1	5,420	1.28	0	0.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	1	1,035	0.24	0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	10	35,682	8.43	0	0.00	0
Valid votes					423,536
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	28	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Sarawak's population
Source:

Selangor[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Selangor

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	22			22	100.00	+5
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	10			10	45.45	+2
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	7			7	31.82	+1
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	4			4	18.18	+1
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan	1			1	4.55	+1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP				0	0.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	22	100.00	+5
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

Terengganu[]

Summary of the 21 March 2004 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results in Terengganu

Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
					Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front[a]		BN	8	221,328	56.46	8	100.00	+8
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	8	221,328	56.46	8	100.00	+8
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	7	150,057	38.28	0	0.00	-7
	People's Justice Party		PKR	1	20,635	5.26	0	0.00	-1
Valid votes					392,020
Invalid/blank votes					8,874
Total votes (voter turnout: 87.93%)					400,894	100.00	8	100.00	0
Did not vote					55,029
Registered voters					455,923
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Source:

State Assemblies[]

Elections for the assemblies of all the Malaysian states except Sarawak were also held on 21 March. The National Front and its allies won majorities in all states except Kelantan where, despite earlier reports to the contrary, PAS retained control with a narrow majority of 24 seats to BN's 21 seats. The National Front regained control of the state of Terengganu, which it lost to PAS in 1999. The PAS opposition leader, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who lost his parliamentary seat as mentioned earlier, managed to retain his state seat.

Background[]

On 2 March, the 10th national parliament and all state assemblies in Malaysia (with the exception of Sarawak) were dissolved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong upon the advice of the Prime Minister. Sarawak's last state election was held in 2001, and elections for the state assembly are not due till 2006.

The election was held nine months earlier than required by the constitution. The constitution allows that parliament has a mandate of 5 years. Elections are required to be called three months after parliament is dissolved. The government had until the end of November 2004 to call elections.

Candidates nominated on 13 March, with the National Front winning 15 seats uncontested, and another two seats after the opposing candidates withdrew. The right to withdraw was only introduced as a new rule at these elections. Under this rule candidates are allowed a three-day period to withdraw following nomination day. Of the 17 parliamentary seats won uncontested, nine were in the state of Sabah, six in Sarawak and two in Johor.

PAS won a state assembly seat Senggarang in Johor for the first time, after the National Front candidate was disqualified because she was seconded by someone who was not a registered voter in the constituency which she wanted to contest. The requirement that the seconder be registered in the same constituency was only introduced in 2004. This seat was influenced by other opposition parties to gain many state seat in 2008 contest.

Election irregularities[]

The elections were marred by discrepancies, which were admitted by the electoral authorities. The head of the Election Commission () made the statement "I have been in this line for so long... it should not have happened at all. There must be reasons why this happened." He has served in the election commission for the last five elections, and has stated that he intends to resign if a report on the discrepancies implicates him in the foul-ups.

Among the discrepancies were wrongly printed ballots, registered voters being unable to vote and wide discrepancies in votes in various seats upon re-counting the ballots.

In the seat of Sungai Lembing in state of Pahang, the Keadilan symbol was printed wrongly on the ballot paper for PAS candidate Idris Ahmad. Illiterate voters tend to rely on familiar party symbols for voting purposes as they are unable to read the candidate's names on the ballot. Voting was suspended for 5 hours before resuming. Polling was re-held for the seat on 28 March.^[2]

See also[]

• 2004 in Malaysia
• Elections in Malaysia

Further reading[]

• Lim, Hong-Hai; Ong, Kiang-Min (2006). The 2004 General Election and the Electoral Process in Malaysia. Between Consolidation and Crisis: Elections and Democracy in Five Nations in Southeast Asia. Berlin: Lit. pp. 147–214.

References[]

External links[]

• The (Malaysian) Star Online
• ChannelNewsAsia
• Bernama
• Election Commission Malaysia (SPR) (in Malay)
• Results from the SPR (in Malay)