KOTA BAHARU, March 9 (Bernama) -- Based on the tremendous response given to the Barisan Nasional (BN) throughout the 13-day campaign to end Pas' 18-year-rule in Kelantan, the results in the just-concluded election is "unexpected", to say the least.
The silent majority, which the BN had banked on to turn the tide to its favour, had voted to the contrary -- by returning Pas to power with a bigger majority.
The final tally saw Pas winning a total of 38 state seats while its opposition partner Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) won one, giving the opposition front a total of 39 out of 45 state seats. The BN won the other six seats.
For parliamentary seats, Pas won nine, PKR three and BN two, a stark contrast to the scenario in the 2004 general election when the BN won 12 out of 14 parliamentary seats.
In the 2004 election, while the chief ministers and Menteris Besar in other states were being sworn in, Kelantan was still in a state of uncertainty as the BN and Pas were tied at 19 seats each, with recounts in seven more seats.
It was only two days after the voting that Kelantan was able to form the state government with a slim majority of 24 seats compared to BN's 21 seats.
Pas further lost another seat to BN in the Pengkalan Pasir by-election in 2005.
[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=319587]
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Wind Of Change In Favour Of Pas In Kelantan - Bernama
Malaysian ruling coalition suffers poll debacle - Reuters
By Jalil Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's ruling party faced its biggest electoral debacle on Sunday, as the opposition won five of 13 states, putting a dark cloud on the prime minister's political future.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's multi-racial National Front coalition managed to win just a simple majority in parliament and will form the government at the federal level.
But it lost a crucial two-thirds parliamentary majority it has held for most of its 50-year-long rule, the election body said. That level is needed to change the constitution.
The leftist Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party (DAP) won Penang state, which houses many multinational firms.
The opposition Islamist party PAS scored shock victories in the northern heartland states of Kedah and Perak and easily retained power in its stronghold in northeastern Kelantan state.
DAP and PAS also joined the People's Justice Party, or Parti Keadilan, to take control of the industrial state of Selangor and almost all the seats in capital Kuala Lumpur.
[More at http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKKLR9844320080308]
Barisan reels from worst-ever election performance - The Star
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is in shock. The Barisan Nasional is reeling from its worst-ever election performance.
While it managed to keep Terengganu and will form the next government, it lost Penang, Selangor Kedah and Perak to the Opposition and failed to recapture Kelantan.
Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in accepting the results, said this was clear proof of democracy at work in the country.
He urged people to remain calm and not take to the streets to celebrate.
Earlier, as reports spread of Barisan’s mounting losses, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan warned the public not to hold any victory celebrations or spread rumours of rioting and that the Internal Security Act would be used against offenders caught.
Musa’s concern is understandable considering Barisan’s losses are even bigger than what the ruling party experienced in the 1969 general election.
[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/9/nation/20590068&sec=nation]
