2018/55, 10 May 2018
Malaysians have decided, and Pakatan Harapan (PH) will form the new government. This is the BN’s and UMNO’s first defeat since the country’s independence. Many would attribute PH’s victory to a Malay “tsunami”—the Malay voters’, particularly from those from the rural areas, change of allegiance from BN to PH. But this does not explain the PAS victories in Kelantan and Terengganu, both Malay dominant and rural states. In Kelantan, PAS increased its state legislative assembly seats (SLA), and completely wiped out PH. It took 37 out of the 45 state seats, with BN winning only 8. At the parliament level, PAS won 9 of the 14 seats.
“GE-14 in Malaysia: Fortress Johor has Fallen” by Francis E. Hutchinson