Ruling coalition retains power in Sabah state

Ruling coalition retains power in Sabah state

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling government was returned to power late Saturday in a crucial election in the east Malaysian state of Sabah.

Mahathir's multiracial Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition government won 26 of the 48 contested seats as at 10.45 p.m. (1445 GMT) to form the new state legislative assembly for the next five- year term.

The leading opposition party, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), grabbed 17 seats. Counting was still continuing for the remaining five seats.

The Barisan's victory was a welcome boost for Mahathir, who has to call a nationwide general election by April 2000.

Political analysts had said the outcome of the Sabah state polls was a key indicator of how the Barisan, which has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957, would perform next year.

A total of 199 candidates, nine of whom were women, ran in the Sabah state polls. Polling, which began Friday and closed Saturday, went off without incident.

The Barisan had held 43 of the 48 seats in the previous state government before its dissolution. In the 1994 Sabah polls, the PBS won by garnering 25 seats to the Barisan's 23.

But, the PBS government toppled after a mere three weeks in power when 21 of its victorious candidates defected to the BN, allowing the BN to take power.

Opposition politicians had predicted the Barisan's defeat in Sabah, citing dissatisfaction with the Barisan rule, the current economic recession, and the sacking and arrest of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim as factors that would dent the Barisan's edge with voters.