2004 Malaysian general election

General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 21 March 2004. Voting took place in all 219 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. They were the first elections for Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister following his appointment in 2003. State elections also took place in 505 state constituencies in twelve of the thirteen states (except Sarawak) on the same day as Sabah took the first time election was parallel with the rest of Peninsular Malaysia.

2004 Malaysian general election

21 March 2004
All 219 seats in the Dewan Rakyat 110 seats needed for a majority
Registered	9,755,097
Turnout	72.95%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Kerk Kim Hock Abdul Hadi Awang Party BN DAP BA Last election 56.52%, 148 seats 12.74%, 10 seats 40.28%, 42 seats Seats won 198 12 8 Seat change 50 2 34 Popular vote 4,437,919 687,350 1,672,350 Percentage 63.82% 9.88% 24.05% Swing 7.30pp 2.86pp 16.23pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Abdullah Ahmad Badawi BN Prime Minister-designate Abdullah Ahmad Badawi BN

The Barisan Nasional received 64% of the vote (but would have gained a higher vote had all seats been contested) and won 198 seats to the combined opposition parties' 20 seats, with one independent. This was the largest majority that the Barisan Nasional had won since the 1978. The dominant party in the National Front, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), won 109 seats, a gain of 37. 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.

The 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, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (the wife of imprisoned former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim), retained her seat with a majority of 590 votes.

The third opposition party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which was routed in the 1999 elections, improved its performance with the re-election of party chairman Lim Kit Siang in Ipoh Timor seat and his deputy, Karpal Singh in Bukit Gelugor seat although 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 was a significant turnaround compared to the previous elections, where generally the more "Islamic" candidates had a greater chance of winning in the Malay heartland.

Background

On 2 March, the tenth 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 were not due till 2006.

The elections were held nine months earlier than required by the constitution. The constitution allowed for a parliamentary term of up to five years. Elections were required to be called three months after parliament is dissolved. The government had until the end of November 2004 to call elections.

Campaign

Candidates were 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 that 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.

Conduct

The elections were marred by discrepancies, which were admitted by the electoral authorities. The head of the Election Commission (Tan Sri Ab Rashid Ab Rahman) 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.

Results

Main article: Results of the 2004 Malaysian general election by parliamentary constituency

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	2,483,259	35.71	109	+37
			Malaysian Chinese Association	1,074,230	15.45	31	+2
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	257,663	3.71	10	+4
			Malaysian Indian Congress	221,546	3.19	9	+2
			Sarawak United Peoples' Party	102,057	1.47	6	–1
			Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu	80,408	1.16	11	0
			UPKO	55,117	0.79	4	+1
			Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party	49,483	0.71	4	New
			Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak	46,292	0.67	6	0
			United Sabah Party	26,504	0.38	4	+1
			People's Progressive Party	20,129	0.29	1	+1
			Liberal Democratic Party	8,208	0.12	0	–1
			Sabah Progressive Party	7,143	0.10	2	0
			Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah	5,880	0.08	1	+1
		Total		4,437,919	63.82	198	+50
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	1,062,078	15.27	7	–20
			People's Justice Party	617,169	8.88	1	–4
		Total		1,672,350	24.05	8	–34
	Democratic Action Party			687,350	9.88	12	+2
	Sarawak National Party			28,481	0.41	0	–4
	State Reform Party			6,270	0.09	0	0
	United Democratic Sabah People's Power Party			2,143	0.03	0	New
	Malaysian Democratic Party			1,107	0.02	0	0
	United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation			543	0.01	0	New
	Independents			110,567	1.59	1	+1
Total				6,953,627	100.00	219	+26
Valid votes				6,953,627	97.71
Invalid/blank votes				163,190	2.29
Total votes				7,116,817	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				9,755,097	72.95
Source: CLEA, CRISE

By state

Johor

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	402,630	47.69	16	+3
			Malaysian Chinese Association	232,251	27.51	8	+2
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	18,997	2.25	1	New
			Malaysian Indian Congress	17,953	2.13	1	0
		Total		671,831	79.58	26	+5
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	73,946	8.76	0	0
			People's Justice Party	39,428	4.67	0	0
		Total		113,374	13.43	0	0
	Democratic Action Party			59,013	6.99	0	0
Total				844,218	100.00	26	+6
Valid votes				844,218	97.19
Invalid/blank votes				24,447	2.81
Total votes				868,665	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				1,184,788	73.32

Kedah

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	334,295	51.36	12	+7
			Malaysian Chinese Association	54,648	8.40	2	0
		Total		388,943	59.76	14	+7
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	184,850	28.40	1	–7
			People's Justice Party	77,102	11.85	0	0
		Total		261,952	40.24	1	–7
Total				650,895	100.00	15	0
Valid votes				650,895	97.92
Invalid/blank votes				13,795	2.08
Total votes				664,690	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				821,901	80.87

Kelantan

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	262,377	50.12	8	+7
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	202,103	38.61	6	–4
			People's Justice Party	52,824	10.09	0	–3
		Total		254,927	48.70	6	–7
	Independents			6,198	1.18	0	0
Total				523,502	100.00	14	0
Valid votes				523,502	97.78
Invalid/blank votes				11,908	2.22
Total votes				535,410	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				662,722	80.79

Kuala Lumpur

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats
	Barisan Nasional		Malaysian Chinese Association	108,545	24.08	2
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	78,207	17.35	2
			United Malays National Organisation	77,141	17.12	3
		Total		263,893	58.55	7
	Democratic Action Party			109,339	24.26	4
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	57,033	12.65	0
			Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	19,183	4.26	0
		Total		76,216	16.91	0
	Malaysian Democratic Party			1,107	0.25	0
	Independents			132	0.03	0
Total				450,687	100.00	11
Valid votes				450,687	99.19
Invalid/blank votes				3,694	0.81
Total votes				454,381	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				670,920	67.73

Labuan

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	11,087	77.68	1	0
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	3,186	22.32	0	0
Total				14,273	100.00	1	0
Valid votes				14,273	96.69
Invalid/blank votes				488	3.31
Total votes				14,761	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				22,006	67.08

Malacca

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	121,643	47.41	4	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	61,137	23.83	2	+1
		Total		182,780	71.24	6	+2
	Democratic Action Party			38,370	14.96	0	–1
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	19,761	7.70	0	0
			Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	15,653	6.10	0	0
		Total		35,414	13.80	0	0
Total				256,564	100.00	6	+1
Valid votes				256,564	96.98
Invalid/blank votes				7,997	3.02
Total votes				264,561	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				345,917	76.48

Negeri Sembilan

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	121,715	40.17	5	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	61,551	20.31	2	0
			Malaysian Indian Congress	28,494	9.40	1	0
		Total		211,760	69.89	8	+1
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	31,010	10.23	0	0
			People's Justice Party	19,480	6.43	0	0
		Total		50,490	16.66	0	0
	Democratic Action Party			40,752	13.45	0	0
Total				303,002	100.00	8	+1
Valid votes				303,002	96.86
Invalid/blank votes				9,828	3.14
Total votes				312,830	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				429,786	72.79

Pahang

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	205,278	48.86	10	+2
			Malaysian Chinese Association	68,940	16.41	3	0
			Malaysian Indian Congress	10,226	2.43	1	New
		Total		284,444	67.71	14	+2
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	79,604	18.95	0	0
			People's Justice Party	31,081	7.40	0	0
		Total		110,685	26.35	0	0
	Democratic Action Party			24,991	5.95	0	0
Total				420,120	100.00	14	+3
Valid votes				420,120	97.62
Invalid/blank votes				10,234	2.38
Total votes				430,354	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				570,126	75.48

Penang

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	108,498	21.71	4	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	87,822	17.57	1	0
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	87,790	17.57	3	+1
		Total		284,110	56.85	8	+2
	Democratic Action Party			135,125	27.04	4	0
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	61,410	12.29	1	0
			Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	19,109	3.82	0	0
		Total		80,519	16.11	1	0
Total				499,754	100.00	13	+2
Valid votes				499,754	97.90
Invalid/blank votes				10,712	2.10
Total votes				510,466	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				672,362	75.92

Perak

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	182,404	23.82	11	+2
			Malaysian Chinese Association	166,378	21.73	4	–2
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	51,378	6.71	3	0
			Malaysian Indian Congress	35,742	4.67	2	0
			People's Progressive Party	20,129	2.63	1	+1
		Total		456,031	59.55	21	+1
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	106,022	13.84	0	–2
			People's Justice Party	68,703	8.97	0	0
		Total		174,725	22.82	0	–2
	Democratic Action Party			135,056	17.64	3	+2
Total				765,812	100.00	24	+1
Valid votes				765,812	97.21
Invalid/blank votes				21,969	2.79
Total votes				787,781	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				1,170,351	67.31

Perlis

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	58,188	63.72	3	0
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	33,132	36.28	0	0
Total				91,320	100.00	3	0
Valid votes				91,320	98.12
Invalid/blank votes				1,753	1.88
Total votes				93,073	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				112,482	82.74

Putrajaya

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	4,086	88.33	1	0
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	540	11.67	0	0
Total				4,626	100.00	1	0
Valid votes				4,626	99.40
Invalid/blank votes				28	0.60
Total votes				4,654	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				5,079	91.63

Sabah

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	93,831	30.68	13	–1
			UKPO	55,117	18.02	4	New
			United Sabah Party	26,504	8.67	4	+1
			Liberal Democratic Party	8,208	2.68	0	–1
			Sabah Progressive Party	7,143	2.34	2	0
			Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah	5,880	1.92	1	New
		Total		196,683	64.31	24	–1
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	33,000	10.79	0	0
	Democratic Action Party			8,512	2.78	0	0
	United Democratic Sabah People's Power Party			2,143	0.70	0	New
	United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation			543	0.18	0	New
	Independents			64,947	21.24	1	+1
Total				305,828	100.00	25	+5
Valid votes				305,828	96.36
Invalid/blank votes				11,559	3.64
Total votes				317,387	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				512,490	61.93

Sarawak

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		Sarawak United Peoples' Party	102,057	24.14	6	–1
			Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu	80,408	19.02	11	0
			Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party	49,483	11.71	4	New
			Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak	46,292	10.95	6	0
		Total		278,240	65.83	27	–1
	Democratic Action Party			67,556	15.98	1	+1
	Sarawak National Party			28,481	6.74	0	–4
	Barisan Alternatif		People's Justice Party	5,420	1.28	0	0
			Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	1,035	0.24	0	0
		Total		6,455	1.53	0	New
	State Reform Party			6,270	1.48	0	0
	Independents			35,682	8.44	0	0
Total				422,684	100.00	28	0
Valid votes				422,684	98.54
Invalid/blank votes				6,276	1.46
Total votes				428,960	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				695,969	61.63

Selangor

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	280,225	27.73	10	+2
			Malaysian Chinese Association	232,958	23.05	7	+1
			Malaysian Indian Congress	129,131	12.78	4	+1
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	21,291	2.11	1	+1
		Total		663,605	65.67	22	+5
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	143,946	14.24	0	0
			People's Justice Party	130,752	12.94	0	0
		Total		274,698	27.18	0	0
	Democratic Action Party			68,636	6.79	0	0
	Independents			3,608	0.36	0	0
Total				1,010,547	100.00	22	+5
Valid votes				1,010,547	97.86
Invalid/blank votes				22,136	2.14
Total votes				1,032,683	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				1,422,274	72.61

Terengganu

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	219,861	56.40	8	+8
	Barisan Alternatif		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	149,299	38.30	0	–7
			People's Justice Party	20,635	5.29	0	–1
		Total		169,934	43.60	0	–8
Total				389,795	100.00	8	0
Valid votes				389,795	98.39
Invalid/blank votes				6,366	1.61
Total votes				396,161	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				455,924	86.89

See also

• Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 11th Malaysian Parliament
• 2004 Malaysian state elections

Further reading

• Lim, Hong-Hai; Ong, Kiang-Min (2006). The 2004 General Election and the Electoral Process in Malaysia. Berlin: Lit. pp. 147–214. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

External links

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