Kelantan Elections

On March 11, an election was held in Kelantan state (a large Malaysian state on the north east coast of the mainland) following three months of rule under emergency law. Imposition of the law had led a majority party, Party Islam, to break away from the ruling national front headed by UMNO (United Malays National Organisation).

The election results were quite unexpected and resulted in a landslide victory to UMNO, which has previously been hampered by internal splits. In the election, UMNO and its ally Party Berjasa won 34 seats in the 36 seat state legislature.

It is now widely belived that UMNO will use this victory to call for a national election, not only to consolidate their own position, but to form a more consolidated national front.

The architect of the UMNO victory, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who is also the national finance minister, has used his success to play a more influential role in national politics, and has a key position if a general election is called.