General elections were held in Malaysia on 21 October 1990. The result was a victory for the UMNO-led 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...

, which won 127 of the 180 seats. Voter turnout was 72.3%.

Background

The Muslim opposition parties, Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46) led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh bin Tengku Mohd Hamzah is a major Malaysian political figure from the state of Kelantan, and a former Finance Minister. He is an uncle of the current Raja Perempuan of Kelantan. Tengku is a Malay hereditary title usually translated as prince...

 , teamed up with Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (BERJASA) and Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia (HAMIM) to form the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah. On the other hand, Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46), Democratic Action Party

Democratic Action Party

The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...

 (DAP) and 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...

 (PBS), which withdrew from the 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...

 at the eleventh hour of the general election, teamed up as Gagasan Rakyat. However, these two opposition alliances coorperated in the election but not openly due to the sensitivity of the cooperation between secular Democratic Action Party

Democratic Action Party

The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...

 (DAP) and the Islamic Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) working together.

The Muslim alliance; Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) won all 39 state seats in Kelantan

Kelantan

Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....

 to form the state government, with 24 seats going to PAS and 15 for Semangat 46.. The national or federal level was won by the UMNO Baru-led 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...

 under Mahathir Mohamad on the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu

Ketuanan Melayu

Ketuanan Melayu is a political concept emphasizing Malay preeminence in present day Malaysia. The Malays of peninsular Malaysia claimed a special position and special rights owing to their long domicile and the role of the Malay rulers of the nine Malay states...

(Malay Supremacy).

Meanwhile, in the national level, the general election was won by the 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...

 coalition under incumbent Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to form the federal government.

Results

6

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
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...	2,985,392	53.4	127
Democratic Action Party Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...	985,228	7.6	20
Semangat 46 Semangat 46 Parti Melayu Semangat 46 or Spirit of 46 Malay Party is a now defunct Malaysian political party. The party was formed in 1988 under the leadership of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who felt capable of mounting a realistic challenge to the dominance of then UMNO under Mahathir's leadership and its...	826,398	14.8	8	New
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	391,813	7.0	7
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...	128,260	2.3	14	New
Other parties and independents	276,136	4.9	4	0
Invalid/blank votes	158,498
Total	5,751,725	100	180	+3
Source: Nohlen et al