1987 Sarawak state election

1987 Sarawak state election

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All 48 seats in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Abdul Taib Mahmud Leo Moggie Abdul Rahman Ya'kub Party BN PBDS PERMAS Leader since 26 March 1981 (1981-03-26) 17 July 1983 (1983-07-17) 19 March 1987 (1987-03-19) Leader's seat Sebandi not contesting Matu-Daro (lost) Last election 38 seats, 59.2% 6 seats, 9.3% New party Seats before 38 6 - Seats won 28 15 5 Seat change 10 9 - Popular vote 249,289 79,548 64,152 Percentage 55.3% 17.6% 14.2% Swing 3.9% 8.3% -
Chief Minister before election Abdul Taib Mahmud BN Subsequent chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud BN

The fifth Sarawak state election was held between Wednesday, 15 April and Thursday, 16 April 1987 with a nomination date set on Monday, 6 April 1987. This was a snap election following the 'Ming Court' affair. The state assembly was dissolved on 12 March 1987 by Sarawak governor with the advice of chief minister of Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud.^[1]

All the 48 Sarawak state assembly seats were contested. In this election, Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) fielded candidates for all 48 seats, PBDS for 21 seats, PERMAS for 21 seats, Democratic Action Party (DAP) for 11 seats, and Sarawak Democratik Bersatu (BERSATU) for one seat. There were 16 independents contesting for the seats. There were a total of 118 candidates vying for the seats, which was the lowest since 1979 election.^[2] A total of 625,270 voters were eligible to cast their votes.^[3]

This snap election was called by Taib due to heightening of Ming court affair political crisis when Abdul Rahman Ya'kub together with 27 other state assemblymen signed a letter to call for Taib's resignation. Abdul Rahman formed a new political party named Persatuan Rakyat Malaysia Sarawak (PERMAS) just before the election. Together with Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Abdul Rahman would form an opposition alliance to challenge Taib at the polls.

Sarawak BN, composed of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP), and Sarawak National Party (SNAP), won 28 out of 48 seats on the election day, thus able to form a government with a simple majority.

The full list of representatives is shown below:^[4]

• Elections in Sarawak
• 1987 Ming Court Affair
• List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (1986–1990)