1978 Malaysian general election

1978 Malaysian general election
← outgoing members Members elected →
All 154 seats to the Dewan Rakyat; 78 seats needed for a majority
Registered	5,059,689
Turnout	3,596,732 (75.3%)
Prime Minister before election; Hussein Onn; BN	Prime Minister-designate ; Hussein Onn; BN

A general election was held between Saturday, 8 July and Saturday, 22 July 1978 for members of the 5th Parliament of Malaysia.^[1] 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 276 state constituencies (except Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak) on the same day.

It was Hussein Onn's first and only election since he became the country's third Prime Minister in 1976. His Barisan Nasional Party emerged victorious with 131 of the 154 seats in Parliament. Voter turnout was 75.3%.

Results

Dewan Rakyat

As expected, Barisan Nasional comfortably maintained its majority in the Malaysian Parliament and thus, gave the Prime Minister the power to form a government with a free hand. Despite the victory, BN actually lost four seats out of 154 seats to the opposition.

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) withdrew from BN in the midst of the 1977 Kelantan Emergency over disagreements with UMNO over the running of the state government of Kelantan, which PAS had controlled since the first post-independence general election in 1959. With the support of UMNO, detractors within PAS split with the party and formed the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Front (BERJASA). In the election, PAS lost the control of the state for the first time to the UMNO-BERJASA alliance within BN. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has been credited for UMNO's victory in Kelantan.

The opposition garnered 42.8% of total votes. In spite of that, the opposition as one won only 23 seats. Democratic Action Party won the largest slice of the pie among the opposition parties and hence, its leader Lim Kit Siang retained his position as the leader of the opposition that he had obtained four years earlier.

Candidates were returned unopposed in nine constituencies. The registered electors from these constituencies therefore did not cast ballots.

Summary of the 8 – 22 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results
Party				Vote		Seats
Party				Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	1,987,907	57.23	131	85.06	-4
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO			70	45.45	+8
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA			17	11.04	-2
		Sabah People's United Front	BERJAYA			9	5.84	New
		Sarawak National Party	SNAP	45,218		9	5.84	0
		United Traditional Bumiputera Party	PBB	52,222		8	5.19	0
		Sarawak United People's Party	SUPP	64,099		6	3.90	-1
		United Sabah National Organisation	USNO			5	3.25	-8
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan			4	2.60	-1
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC			3	1.95	-1
		People's Progressive Party	PPP			0	0.00	-1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	664,433	19.13	16	10.39	+7
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	537,720	15.48	5	3.25	-8
	Sarawak People's Organisation		SAPO	10,150	0.29	1	0.65	New
	Malaysian People's Socialist Party		PSRM			0	0.00	0
	Other parties			112,850	3.25	0	0.00	0
	Sarawak Native People's Party		PAJAR	35,009		0	0.00	New
	Parti Umat Sarawak		UMAT	3,898		0	0.00	New
	Parti Negara Rakyat Sarawak		NEGARA	861		0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND	160,370	4.62	1	0.65	+1
Valid votes				3,473,430
Invalid/blank votes				123,302
Total (turnout: 75.3%)				3,596,732	100.00	154	100.00	0
Did not vote				1,462,957
Registered voters				5,059,689
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)				6,067,230
Malaysian population				12,303,000
Source: Nohlen et al. [1],[2]

Results by state

Johore

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Johore
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	16	330,233		15	93.75	-1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	11			11	68.75	0
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	5			4	25.00	-1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	6	64,385		1	6.25	+1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	12	32,512		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	16	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Johore's population
Source:

Kedah

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Kedah
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	13	196,986		11	84.62	-2
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	11			9	69.23	+1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2			2	15.38	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	13	137,400		2	15.38	-1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	1	2,828		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	5	8,410		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	13	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Kedah's population
Source:

Kelantan

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Kelantan
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	12	143,161		10	83.33	-2
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	12			10	83.33	+5
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	12	110,620		2	16.67	-5
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	12	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Kelantan's population
Source:

Kuala Lumpur

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Kuala Lumpur
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	4	101,306		1	9.09	0
	National Front		BN	4	46,147
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO
	Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia		PEKEMAS	2	17,998		0	0.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	2	12,006		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	3	5,072		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00		100.00
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Kuala Lumpur's population
Source:

Malacca

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Malacca
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	4	61,669		3	75.00	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	2			2	50.00	0
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2			1	25.00	0
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	2	37,056		1	25.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	1	6,876		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	4	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Malacca's population
Source:

Negri Sembilan

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Negri Sembilan
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	6	81,671		5	83.33	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	3			3	50.00	0
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2			1	16.67	0
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	1			1	16.67	0
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	4	41,736		1	16.67	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	4	11,217		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	1	7,151		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	6	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Negri Sembilan's population
Source:

Pahang

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Pahang
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	8	123,593		8	100.00	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	6			6	75.00	-1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	2			2	25.00	+1
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	7	34,156		0	0.00	0
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	3	16,354		0	0.00	0
	Malaysian People's Socialist Party		PSRM	1	6,441		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	2	4,384		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	8	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Pahang's population
Source:

Penang

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Penang
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	9	138,173		4	44.44	-5
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	3			2	22.22	-1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	3			1	11.11	-2
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan	3			1	11.11	-2
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	5	79,918		4	44.44	+4
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	6	31,667		1	11.11	+1
	Malaysian People's Socialist Party		PSRM	1	10,044		0	0.00	0
	Social Democratic Party		SDP	3	13,788		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	4	19,250		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	9	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Penang's population
Source:

Perak

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Perak
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	21	293,563		17	80.95	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO				10	47.62	-1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA				3	14.29	+1
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan				2	9.52	0
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC				1	4.76	0
		Barisan Nasional Direct Candidate					1	4.76
		People's Progressive Party	PPP				0	0.00	-1
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	19	201,087		4	19.05	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	14	52,655		0	0.00	-1
	Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia		PEKEMAS	1	342		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	1	1,564		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	21	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Perak's population
Source:

Perlis

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Perlis
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	2	30,762		2	100.00	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	2			2	100.00	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	2	16,973		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	1	2,906		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	2	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Perlis's population
Source:

Sabah

Summary of the 8 – 15 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Sabah
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	16	99,160		14	87.50	-2
		Sabah People's United Front	BERJAYA				9	56.25	New
		United Sabah National Organisation	USNO				5	31.25	-8
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	2	11,733		1	6.25	+1
	Independents		IND	14	58,577		1	6.25	+1
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	16	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Sabah's population
Source:

Sarawak

Summary of the 8 – 22 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Sarawak
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	24	161,539	63.03	23	95.83	+8
		Sarawak National Party	SNAP	9	45,218	17.64	9	37.50	0
		United Traditional Bumiputera Party	PBB	8	52,222	20.38	8	33.33	0
		Sarawak United People's Party	SUPP	7	64,099	25.01	6	25.00	-1
	Sarawak Native People's Party		PAJAR	12	35,009	13.66	0	0.00	New
	Sarawak People's Organisation		SAPO	1	10,150	3.96	1	4.17	New
	Parti Umat Sarawak		UMAT	3	3,898	1.52	0	0.00	New
	Parti Negara Rakyat Sarawak		NEGARA	3	861	0.34	0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND	16	44,831	17.49	0	0.00	0
Valid votes					256,288
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	24	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Sarawak's population
Source:

Selangor

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Selangor
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	11	212,424		10	90.91	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	6			6	54.55	+1
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA	4			3	27.27	-1
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC	1			1	9.09	0
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	7	111,049		1	9.09	0
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	8	33,100		0	0.00	0
	Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia		PEKEMAS	3	4,541		0	0.00	0
	Malaysian People's Socialist Party		PSRM	1	902		0	0.00	0
	Independents		IND	1	3,257		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	11	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Selangor's population
Source:

Trengganu

Summary of the 8 July 1978 Malaysian *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Trengganu
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	National Front		BN	7	75,722		7	100.00	0
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	7			7	100.00	+3
	Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party		PAS	7	49,363		0	0.00	-3
	Malaysian People's Socialist Party		PSRM	1	4,644		0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)						100.00	7	100.00	0
Did not vote
Registered voters
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)
Trengganu's population
Source:

State Assemblies

References

^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN 0-19-924959-8

[1] Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN 0-19-924959-8

[1]

v t e Elections in Malaysia
Federal	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022 by-elections
State	1954 1955 1959 (Malaya) 1959 (Sarawak) 1963 1964 1967 1969 1971 1974 1976 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1990 1991 1994 1995 1996 1999 2001 2004 2006 2008 2011 2013 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022 by-elections
Local	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
See also: Elections in Johor Kedah Kelantan Kuala Lumpur Labuan Malacca Negeri Sembilan Pahang Penang Perak Perlis Putrajaya Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu