GE12 (2008) — Malaysian Politics

The 'political tsunami': BN lost two-thirds majority and five states; birth of Pakatan Rakyat.

8 March 2008222 seats112 for a majority

“Alliance/BN” held 140 of 222 seats — past the 112 needed to govern.

Alliance/BN140

PR/PH82

every seat, 2008

the road to this election

Parliament was dissolved on 13 February 2008, more than a year before its scheduled expiry. Voters went to the polls on 8 March after a 13-day campaign, with 222 parliamentary seats at stake.

The campaign’s reported issues included rising prices, concerns about the judiciary, alleged corruption, and questions of ethnic inequality. The Election Commission’s last-minute cancellation of planned indelible ink also drew criticism from the opposition; the EC said it had received information about a plan to use smuggled ink to disrupt voting.

BN sought another mandate on its record in government. PKR, DAP and PAS had no formal coalition at the time, but coordinated candidate placements in parts of the peninsula; their campaigns presented different programmes while sharing the objective of limiting BN’s parliamentary majority.

The result changed the parliamentary balance substantially from GE11: BN moved from 199 of 219 seats in 2004 to 140 of 222, while PKR, DAP and PAS together held 82 seats. BN nevertheless formed the federal government, and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in again as Prime Minister on 10 March. Opposition parties also formed or retained governments in five states. Turnout was 74.72%; BN received 51.12% of valid votes nationwide, compared with 47.19% combined for PKR, PAS and DAP.

the working

What the sources say

8 claims, each carrying the certainty label written beside it in the knowledge base, and the source it came from.

established

Parliament was dissolved on 13 February 2008 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s advice. Nomination day was 24 February and polling was held on 8 March, after a 13-day campaign.

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar

established

The campaign took place amid concerns about rising oil and consumer prices, perceived ethnic inequality, judicial independence, and the re-emergence of opposition politics around Anwar Ibrahim. BN campaigned under “Security, Peace and Prosperity”; PKR, PAS and DAP campaigned on differing platforms and coordinated to avoid some three-cornered contests.

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar

established

The Election Commission cancelled the planned use of indelible ink four days before polling. EC chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said authorities had uncovered a plan to use smuggled ink to mark voters before they voted; opposition parties dismissed that explanation and criticised the cancellation.

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar AFP and AP

established

Compared with GE11 in 2004, when BN won 198 of 219 seats on election day (199 after a subsequent election petition), BN won 140 of the enlarged 222-seat Dewan Rakyat in GE12; PKR won 31 seats, DAP 28 and PAS 23.

Inter-Parliamentary Union

established

BN retained the federal government. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in on 10 March 2008 for a second term as Prime Minister.

Inter-Parliamentary Union

established

Opposition parties formed or retained state governments in Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, Perak and Selangor following the election.

Al Jazeera

established

Turnout was 74.72% of 10,922,139 registered electors. BN received 51.12% of valid votes nationwide; PKR received 19.15%, PAS 14.29% and DAP 13.75%.

Inter-Parliamentary Union

established

An archived Election Commission-hosted results page records the GE12 Dewan Rakyat results for polling day, 8 March 2008.

Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia

where accounts differ

Why it turned out this way — and who says so

Explanations for an election result are arguments, not facts. Each of these is attributed to the person or study that made it, and set beside the others without a winner being picked.

How much new media affected the result

contested

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar wrote that opposition parties used websites, blogs and YouTube to offset limited favourable mainstream-media coverage, but said its influence remained debatable because surveys placed the internet below newspapers and television as news sources.. Abdul Rashid Moten argued that three opposition parties’ cooperation and use of alternative media contributed to their winning 82 seats.

how this is labelled: contested — Mokhtar’s assessment; contested — Moten’s academic framing

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar Abdul Rashid Moten

Whether the result chiefly reflected economic dissatisfaction or changes in coalition support

contested

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar characterised voters as responding to “bread and butter” issues highlighted in the campaign.. Thomas B. Pepinsky’s later quantitative study argued that state-level economic and incumbency measures did not explain the aggregate pattern, instead identifying weaker support for BN’s non-UMNO component parties in Peninsular Malaysia as central.

how this is labelled: contested — Mokhtar’s framing; contested — Pepinsky’s academic framing

Tunku Mohar Mokhtar Thomas B. Pepinsky

contested

advanced by political scientist Abdul Rashid Moten

how this is labelled: contested — Moten’s academic framing

Abdul Rashid Moten

contested

advanced by blogger and activist Raja Petra Kamarudin in contemporaneous reporting

how this is labelled: contested — Raja Petra’s account

Al Jazeera

still being researched

What this page does not yet know

Why Abdullah chose the dissolution date; the sources cited here do not establish a comprehensive explanation.

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