BERJAYA was a political party based in the eastern state of Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

 in Malaysia. BERJAYA stands for Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah or Sabah People's United Front. The party was a result of a cooperation between Sabah's first Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens

Tun Fuad Stephens

Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He played a fundamental role in bringing the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. He held the chief minister post until 1964, and again in 1976...

 and former United Sabah National Organization

United Sabah National Organization

United Sabah National Organization was a political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. The party was founded by Tun Mustapha, the third Chief Minister of Sabah. The party came into power after winning the 1967 state election...

 (USNO) secretary-general Harris Salleh

Harris Salleh

Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Harris bin Mohd Salleh, was the 6th Chief Minister of the state of Sabah, in Malaysia. He was also the president for Parti Berjaya. He held the Chief Minister's post from 1976 to 1985...

. The party has been a partner of Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

, Malaysia's ruling coalition, since its inception on July 15, 1975.

BERJAYA governed the state of Sabah for 8 years from 1976 to 1985. Tun Fuad Stephens was previously the president of United Pasok Momogun Kadazan Organisation (UPKO). That party was originally called United National Kadazan Organization (UNKO) before it was renamed UPKO on September 16, 1963, in conjunction with Sabah's independence and Malaysia Day

Malaysia Day

Malaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia...

.

When BERJAYA won the 1976 state election, Tun Fuad was installed as Sabah's fifth Chief Minister, his second time holding the post. He replaced Mohammad Said bin Keruak of USNO. However, barely 44 days after becoming Chief Minister, Tun Fuad died in a plane crash in Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...

 on June 6, 1976. The incident became known as the Double Six Tragedy

Double Six Tragedy

The Double Six Tragedy, also known as the Double Six Crash, was a plane crash which took place on June 6, 1976 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The plane, operated by Sabah Air, coming from Labuan crashed in the sub-district of Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu upon approaching Kota Kinabalu International Airport...

. Along with him, several other state ministers also perished. Harris Salleh

Harris Salleh

Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Harris bin Mohd Salleh, was the 6th Chief Minister of the state of Sabah, in Malaysia. He was also the president for Parti Berjaya. He held the Chief Minister's post from 1976 to 1985...

 then took over his post, becoming the sixth Chief Minister of Sabah.

In the 1981 state election, BERJAYA again won, this time with an overwhelming majority. They won 44 out of 48 seats contested. In 1984, party member Joseph Pairin Kitingan

Joseph Pairin Kitingan

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan , is a Malaysian politician and was the seventh Chief Minister of Sabah, a state in Malaysia. He held the post from April 1985 to March 1994. Currently, he is the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Development of Sabah and has...

 left the party to form Parti Bersatu Sabah

Parti Bersatu Sabah

The Parti Bersatu Sabah is a political party in Sabah, east Malaysia. It was registered as a political party on March 5, 1985...

. This newly formed party defeated BERJAYA in the 1985 state election

Sabah state election, 1985

The 1985 Sabah state election was held from April 20 to April 21, 1985 in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. This was the fifth state election to take place. Parti Bersatu Sabah won 25 out 48 seats contested, thus forming government with its president Joseph Pairin Kitingan being sworn in as Chief...

.

In the 1990 state election, BERJAYA's support has evidently dwindled as they failed to win a single seat in the election. The party then effected a merger with USNO to form the Sabah chapter of the Peninsular

Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

-based United Malays National Organisation

United Malays National Organisation

The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....

(UMNO). USNO's president Tun Mustapha became Sabah UMNO's first president, while Harris became an adviser to the party.