1982 Malaysian general election

1982 Malaysian general election

22–26 April 1982
All 154 seats in the Dewan Rakyat 78 seats needed for a majority
Registered	6,081,628
Turnout	74.39%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Mahathir Mohamad Lim Kit Siang Asri Muda Party UMNO DAP PAS Alliance Barisan Nasional Last election 57.23%, 130 seats 19.13%, 16 seats 15.48%, 5 seats Seats won 132 9 5 Seat change 2 7 Popular vote 2,522,079 815,473 602,530 Percentage 60.54% 19.58 14.46% Swing 3.31pp 0.45pp 0.98pp
Prime Minister before election Mahathir Mohamad BN Prime Minister-designate Mahathir Mohamad BN

General elections were held in Malaysia between Thursday, 22 April and Monday, 26 April 1982. Voting took place in all 154 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 293 state constituencies (except Sabah and Sarawak) on the same day. It was the first election for Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister since his appointment to this position in 1981.

The result was a victory for Barisan Nasional, which won 132 of the 154 seats. The coalition made significant gains in urban constituencies, reducing the Democratic Action Party's representation from 16 seats to nine. Voter turnout was 74%.

Polling was conducted in stages. Most parliamentary constituencies voted on 22 April, while polling in Sabah was held on 26 April, when the remaining parliamentary results were determined.

Background

The general election was called less than a year after Mahathir succeeded as Prime Minister in July 1981. It was the first general election contested under Mahathir's leadership and was widely regarded as the new administration's first electoral test.

On 21 March 1982, Mahathir announced that Parliament would be dissolved on 29 March and expressed hope that the general election would be held in April. He also advised all state governments, except Sabah and Sarawak, to dissolve their legislative assemblies. Sabah and Sarawak did not participate in the concurrent state elections, as they had held state elections in 1981 and 1979 respectively.

Campaign

Following the dissolution of Parliament, Barisan Nasional finalised its list of candidates after separate meetings between Mahathir Mohamad and leaders of the coalition's component parties. On 5 April, Mahathir announced that the line-up had been completed. The coalition fielded 74 UMNO, 28 MCA, seven Gerakan, four MIC, 11 Berjaya, five USNO, seven SUPP, nine SNAP, eight PBB and one BERJASA candidates for parliamentary seats.

The BN campaign was led by Mahathir and Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam under the slogan "Efficient, Clean and Trustworthy" (Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah). As part of Mahathir's effort to project a reformist image, UMNO fielded a large number of new candidates, replacing nearly half of its previous parliamentary candidates, including several Menteri Besar candidates.

A notable development before the election was the entry of Anwar Ibrahim, the former president of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM), into UMNO. He contested the newly created parliamentary constituency of Permatang Pauh as a Barisan Nasional candidate.

PAS campaigned on an Islamic platform, using the slogan "The Quran is our constitution, the Prophet our guide, Islam our goal". During the campaign, the party questioned UMNO's commitment to Islamic principles and called for greater Islamisation.

Gerakan also broadened its electoral appeal by nominating several figures associated with the Chinese education movement.

During the campaign, Negeri Sembilan State Assembly Speaker Taha Talib was shot dead outside his home on 14 April, eight days before polling. The murder attracted widespread public attention and later resulted in the arrest and conviction of Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Mokhtar Hashim.

Results

The election resulted in Barisan Nasional consolidating its electoral dominance, particularly among Malay voters. The coalition also recorded its strongest performance among Chinese voters since the 1964 general election. Contemporary political commentators attributed Barisan Nasional's improved performance in urban constituencies to strong support from first-time voters, while noting that the Democratic Action Party's vote share remained largely unchanged in many of its traditional strongholds.

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	1,323,937	31.78	70	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	678,206	16.28	24	+7
			Sabah People's United Front	81,963	1.97	10	+2
			Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu	28,700	0.69	8	0
			Sarawak National Party	41,295	0.99	6	–3
			Sarawak United Peoples' Party	81,993	1.97	5	–1
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	146,654	3.52	5	+1
			Malaysian Indian Congress	79,825	1.92	4	+1
			United Sabah National Organisation	30,816	0.74	0	–5
			BERJASA	28,690	0.69	0	0
		Total		2,522,079	60.54	132	+2
	Democratic Action Party			815,473	19.58	9	–7
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			602,530	14.46	5	0
	Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia			38,800	0.93	0	0
	United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation			14,958	0.36	0	New
	Sabah Chinese United Party			11,600	0.28	0	New
	Parti Anak Jati Sarawak			1,415	0.03	0	0
	PEKEMAS			619	0.01	0	0
	Social Democratic Party			464	0.01	0	0
	Social United Association Party			352	0.01	0	0
	Sarawak People's Organisation			178	0.00	0	–1
	Independents			157,229	3.77	8	+6
Total				4,165,697	100.00	154	0
Valid votes				4,165,697	96.96
Invalid/blank votes				130,615	3.04
Total votes				4,296,312	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				5,775,605	74.39
Source: CLEA Tindak Malaysia Github

Total Registered Voters above refer to the total electorate of contested constituencies. Total Electorate for whole of 1982 inclusive 12 uncontested constituencies was 6081628.

There is conflicting information whether Berjasa was allocated to one or two parliamentary constituencies (subject which source being referenced too.

By state

Source:

Johore

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	193,999	45.75	11	0
			Malaysian Chinese Association	97,598	23.01	4	0
			Malaysian Indian Congress	20,932	4.94	1	New
		Total		312,529	73.70	16	0
	Democratic Action Party			71,351	16.83	0	–1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			18,224	4.30	0	0
	Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia			21,288	5.02	0	0
	Independents			683	0.16	0	0
Total				424,075	100.00	16	0
Valid votes				424,075	95.56
Invalid/blank votes				19,725	4.44
Total votes				443,800	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				587,458	75.55

Total Registered voters above refer to the total electorate of contested constituencies. Total Electorate for Johor inclusive 4 uncontested constituencies was 757837.

Kedah

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	194,826	47.95	10	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	39,951	9.83	2	0
			BERJASA	14,039	3.46	0	0
		Total		248,816	61.24	12	+1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			131,872	32.46	1	–1
	Democratic Action Party			24,354	5.99	0	0
	Independents			1,271	0.31	0	0
Total				406,313	100.00	13	0
Valid votes				406,313	97.15
Invalid/blank votes				11,938	2.85
Total votes				418,251	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				541,914	77.18

Kelantan

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	157,341	48.28	8	–2
			BERJASA	14,651	4.50	0	0
		Total		171,992	52.78	8	-2
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			151,629	46.53	4	+2
	Democratic Action Party			1,896	0.58	0	0
	Independents			348	0.11	0	0
Total				325,865	100.00	12	0
Valid votes				325,865	97.33
Invalid/blank votes				8,945	2.67
Total votes				334,810	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				418,242	80.05

Kuala Lumpur

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Action Party			133,442	46.80	3	0
	Barisan Nasional		Malaysian Chinese Association	81,611	28.62	1	+1
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	28,163	9.88	0	-1
			United Malays National Organisation	32,348	11.35	1	0
		Total		142,122	49.85	2	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			7,979	2.80	0	0
	Independents			1,582	0.55	0	New
Total				285,125	100.00	5	0
Valid votes				285,125	98.88
Invalid/blank votes				3,239	1.12
Total votes				288,364	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				406,782	70.89

Malacca

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	52,884	32.45	2	0
			Malaysian Chinese Association	55,397	33.99	1	0
		Total		108,281	66.44	3	0
	Democratic Action Party			34,584	21.22	1	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			20,105	12.34	0	0
Total				162,970	100.00	4	0
Valid votes				162,970	96.77
Invalid/blank votes				5,438	3.23
Total votes				168,408	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				219,236	76.82

Negeri Sembilan

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	69,072	35.36	3	0
			Malaysian Chinese Association	43,454	22.24	2	+1
			Malaysian Indian Congress	18,937	9.69	1	0
		Total		131,463	67.30	6	+1
	Democratic Action Party			53,592	27.43	0	–1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			8,751	4.48	0	0
	Independents			1,539	0.79	0	0
Total				195,345	100.00	6	0
Valid votes				195,345	96.88
Invalid/blank votes				6,301	3.12
Total votes				201,646	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				261,632	77.07

Pahang

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	113,518	48.66	6	0
			Malaysian Chinese Association	27,378	11.74	2	0
		Total		140,896	60.39	8	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			46,951	20.12	0	0
	Democratic Action Party			40,016	17.15	0	0
	Independents			5,434	2.33	0	0
Total				233,297	100.00	8	0
Valid votes				233,297	96.22
Invalid/blank votes				9,160	3.78
Total votes				242,457	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				325,831	74.41

Penang

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	57,487	16.69	3	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	71,870	20.87	2	+1
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	64,253	18.66	2	+1
		Total		193,610	56.23	7	+3
	Democratic Action Party			124,089	36.04	2	–2
	Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia			15,944	4.63	0	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			8,612	2.50	0	–1
	Social Democratic Party			464	0.13	0	0
	Independents			1,626	0.47	0	0
Total				344,345	100.00	9	0
Valid votes				344,345	97.25
Invalid/blank votes				9,746	2.75
Total votes				354,091	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				460,387	76.91

Perak

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	164,042	26.99	11	+1
			Malaysian Chinese Association	138,927	22.86	6	+3
			Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia	54,238	8.92	3	+1
			Malaysian Indian Congress	14,930	2.46	1	0
		Total		372,137	61.23	21	+4
	Democratic Action Party			154,472	25.42	0	–4
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			79,264	13.04	0	0
	PEKEMAS			619	0.10	0	0
	Independents			1,297	0.21	0	0
Total				607,789	100.00	21	0
Valid votes				607,789	96.79
Invalid/blank votes				20,135	3.21
Total votes				627,924	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				848,885	73.97

In 1978, Bagan Datok was contested by Dato' Haji Hassan Adli as BN-Direct Candidate (no party affiliation). In 1982, Bagan Datok was contested by UMNO. This explains seat won change for UMNO increased by one (while collectively BN only had net increase of 4 seats when comparing from 1982 with 1978 results)

Perlis

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	39,715	67.80	2	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			18,860	32.20	0	0
Total				58,575	100.00	2	0
Valid votes				58,575	96.25
Invalid/blank votes				2,283	3.75
Total votes				60,858	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				79,018	77.02

Sabah

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		Sabah People's United Front	81,963	38.35	10	+2
			United Sabah National Organisation	30,816	14.42	0	–5
		Total		112,779	52.77	10	–3
	Democratic Action Party			18,641	8.72	1	0
	United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation			14,958	7.00	0	0
	Sabah Chinese United Party			11,600	5.43	0	0
	Social United Association Party			352	0.16	0	0
	Independents			55,382	25.91	5	+3
Total				213,712	100.00	16	0
Valid votes				213,712	98.09
Invalid/blank votes				4,163	1.91
Total votes				217,875	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				324,199	67.20

The above registered voter count refers to total electorate of contested constituencies. Total Electorate for Sabah inclusive two uncontested constituencies would be 358609.

Sarawak

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		Sarawak United Peoples' Party	81,993	30.62	5	–1
			Sarawak National Party	41,295	15.42	6	–3
			Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu	28,700	10.72	8	0
		Total		151,988	56.75	19	–4
	Democratic Action Party			48,623	18.16	2	+2
	Parti Anak Jati Sarawak			1,415	0.53	0	0
	Sarawak People's Organisation			178	0.07	0	–1
	Independents			65,594	24.49	3	+3
Total				267,798	100.00	24	0
Valid votes				267,798	97.22
Invalid/blank votes				7,656	2.78
Total votes				275,454	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				412,158	66.83

The above registered voter count refers to total electorate of contested constituencies. Total Electorate for Sarawak inclusive six uncontested constituencies would be 513392.

Selangor

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	141,836	31.22	6	0
			Malaysian Chinese Association	122,020	26.86	4	+1
			Malaysian Indian Congress	25,026	5.51	1	0
		Total		288,882	63.58	11	+1
	Democratic Action Party			110,413	24.30	0	–1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			33,292	7.33	0	0
	Independents			21,754	4.79	0	0
Total				454,341	100.00	11	0
Valid votes				454,341	96.97
Invalid/blank votes				14,175	3.03
Total votes				468,516	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				647,761	72.33

Trengganu

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barisan Nasional		United Malays National Organisation	106,869	57.41	7	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party			76,991	41.36	0	0
	Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia			1,568	0.84	0	0
	Independents			719	0.39	1	0
Total				186,147	100.00	8	0
Valid votes				186,147	96.02
Invalid/blank votes				7,711	3.98
Total votes				193,858	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				242,092	80.08

Conduct

Polling, vote counting and post-election celebrations proceeded without major security incidents, despite closely contested races in several constituencies.

Aftermath

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew congratulated Mahathir on Barisan Nasional's victory, describing it as "a massive vote of confidence" and expressing confidence that the result would strengthen bilateral cooperation and ASEAN solidarity.

Korean President Chun Doo-hwan also congratulated Mahathir, expressing confidence in Malaysia's continued progress and prosperity and hope for closer relations between the two countries.

See also

• Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 6th Malaysian Parliament
• 1982 Malaysian state elections
• First premiership of Mahathir Mohamad