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National Front Barisan Nasional باريسن ناسيونل 国民阵线 பாரிசான் நேசனல்
Abbreviation	BN
Chairman	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Secretary-General	Annuar Musa
Deputy Chairman	Mohamad Hasan
Vice Chairmen	Liow Tiong Lai Vigneswaran Sanasee
Founder	Abdul Razak Hussein
Founded	1 January 1973 (1973-01-01)[1]
Legalised	1 June 1974 (as a party)
Preceded by	Alliance
Headquarters	Aras 8, Menara Dato’ Onn, Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Newspaper	Pro-BN newspapers: New Straits Times The Star Utusan Malaysia Nanyang Siang Pau Tamil Nesan
Student wing	Siswa Barisan Nasional
Youth wing	Barisan Nasional Youth Movement
Membership (2018)	7,000,000
Ideology	Ketuanan Melayu[2][3] Social conservatism[4] Economic liberalism[5] 1Malaysia
Political position	Right-wing
Colours	Royal blue and sky white
Slogan	Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan
Anthem	Barisan Nasional
Dewan Negara:	29 / 70
Dewan Rakyat:	54 / 222
Dewan Undangan Negeri:	144 / 587
Website
www.barisannasional.org.my
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v t e

The National Front (Malay: Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition in Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of right-wing and centre parties. They are currently the largest opposition coalition in the country's Dewan Rakyat.

The Barisan Nasional coalition employs the same inter-communal governing model of its predecessor the Alliance Party but on a wider scale, with up to 14 communal political parties involved in the coalition at one point.^[1] It dominated Malaysian politics for over thirty years after it was founded, but since 2008 has faced stronger challenges from opposition parties, notably the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and later the Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliances. Taken together with its predecessor (Alliance), it had a combined period of rule from 1957 to 2018, and was considered as the longest ruling coalition party in the democratic world.^[6]

In the aftermath of the 2018 general election, the Barisan Nasional coalition lost its hold of the parliament to PH for the first time in Malaysian history. It was also the first time Barisan Nasional became the opposition coalition after almost 61 years in power, with former prime minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Mahathir Mohamad becoming PH's leader.

History

Formation

Barisan Nasional is the direct successor to the three-party Alliance coalition formed of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). It was founded in the aftermath of the 1969 general election and the 13 May riots. The Alliance Party lost ground in the 1969 election to the opposition parties, in particular the two newly formed parties Democratic Action Party and Gerakan, and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). Although the Alliance won a majority of seats, it gained less than half the popular vote, and the resulting tension between different communities led to riots and the declaration of a state of emergency.^[7] After the Malaysian Parliament reconvened in 1971, negotiations began with former opposition parties such as Gerakan and People's Progressive Party (myPPP), both of which joined the Alliance in 1972, quickly followed by Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).

In 1973, the Alliance Party was replaced by Barisan Nasional.^[1][8] The Barisan Nasional, which included regional parties from Sabah and Sarawak (Sabah Alliance Party, Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP), Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB)), registered in June 1974 as a coalition of nine parties.^[8] It contested the 1974 general election as a grand coalition under the leadership of the prime minister Tun Abdul Razak, which it won with considerable success.^[9]

1977–2007

In 1977, PAS was expelled from Barisan Nasional following a revolt within the Kelantan state legislature against a chief minister appointed by the federal government.^[1] Barisan Nasional nevertheless won the 1978 general election convincingly, and it continued to dominate Malaysian politics in the 1980s and 1990s despite some losses in state elections, such as the loss of Kelantan to PAS, and Sabah to United Sabah Party (PBS) which later joined Barisan Nasional.

By 2003, Barisan Nasional had grown to a coalition formed of more than a dozen communal parties. It performed particularly well in the 2004 general election, winning 198 out of 219 seats.

Although Barisan Nasional never achieved more than 67% of the popular vote in elections from 1974 until 2008, it maintained consecutive two-thirds majority of seats in the Dewan Rakyat until 2008, benefitting from Malaysia's first-past-the-post voting system.^[10]

2008–2018

High-ranking BN party officials holding copies of the party manifesto at a pre-election rally in 2013. In the front row, from left, are Chua Soi Lek (MCA), Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak and Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (UMNO), and Abdul Taib Mahmud (PBB).

In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional lost more than one-third of the parliamentary seats to Pakatan Rakyat, a loose alliance of opposition parties. This marked Barisan's first failure to secure a two-thirds supermajority in Parliament since 1969. Five state governments, namely Selangor, Kelantan, Penang, Perak and Kedah fell to Pakatan Rakyat. Perak however was later returned via court ruling following a constitutional crisis. Since 2008, the coalition has seen its non-Malay component parties greatly diminished in the Peninsula.^[11]

The losses continued in the 2013 general election, and it recorded its worst election result at the time. BN regained back Kedah, but lost several more seats in Parliament along with the popular vote to Pakatan. Despite winning only 47% of the popular vote, it managed to gain 60% of the 222 parliamentary seats, thereby retaining control of the parliament.^[12]

And finally, during the 2018 general election, Barisan Nasional lost control of the parliament to Pakatan Harapan, winning a total of only 79 parliamentary seats. The crushing defeat ended their 61-year rule of the country, paving way for the first change of government in Malaysian history. The coalition won only 34% of the popular vote, despite redrawing the electoral boundaries in their favour. In addition to their failure in regaining the Penang, Selangor and Kelantan state governments, six state governments, namely Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Kedah and Sabah fell to Pakatan Harapan and WARISAN (Sabah). The Terengganu state government also fell but to the Gagasan Sejahtera (GS). Barisan Nasional was only in power in three states; namely Perlis, Pahang and Sarawak.

Many of BN's component parties left the coalition following its humiliating defeat at the 2018 general election, reducing its number to only the original three of UMNO, MCA and MIC compared to 13 before the election. These parties either aligned themselves with the new Pakatan Harapan federal government, formed a new state-based pact or remain independent. They include all four Sabah-based parties – United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO), United Sabah Party (PBS), United Sabah People's Party (PBRS) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),^{[13][14][15][16]} all four Sarawak-based parties – PBB, SUPP, Sarawak People's Party (PRS), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) which form a new state-based pact, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS),^[17][18] myPPP (under Kayveas faction),^[19] and Gerakan.^[20] Three UMNO members of parliament (MPs) also left.^[21][22][23] The departures of several BN's component parties and three UMNO's MPs leaving the party have reduced BN's parliamentary seats to only 54 seats, compared with 79 seats that BN has won in the general election.

Organisation

In 2013, the vast majority of Barisan Nasional's seats were held by its two largest Bumiputera-based political parties—the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB). For most of its history, both the Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress have played major roles in Barisan Nasional, but their representation in Parliament and state legislatures has become much more diminished. Nevertheless, each component party purports to represent – and limit membership – to a certain race: UMNO for the Malays, MCA for the Chinese and so on. In the view of some scholars:

Since its inception the Alliance remained a coalition of communal parties. Each of the component parties operated to all intents and purposes, save that of elections, as a separate party. Their membership was communal, except perhaps Gerakan, and their success was measured in terms of their ability to achieve the essentially parochial demands of their constituents.^[24]

Although both the Alliance and BN registered themselves as political parties, membership is only possible indirectly through one of the constituent parties. In the Alliance, one could hold direct membership, but this was abolished with the formation of the Barisan Nasional. The BN defines itself as a "confederation of political parties which subscribe to the objects of the Barisan Nasional". Although in elections, all candidates stand under the BN symbol, and there is a BN manifesto, each individual constituent party also issues its own manifesto, and there is intra-coalition competition for seats prior to nomination day.^[25]

Member parties

Flag	Name				Ideology	Leader(s)	Seats contested	2018 result		Current seats
								Votes (%)	Seats	Composition
		UMNO		United Malays National Organisation Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu	Ketuanan Melayu	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi	120	20.904%	54 / 222	51 / 54
		MIC		Malaysian Indian Congress Kongres India Malaysia	Indian nationalism	Vigneswaran Sanasee	9	1.383%	2 / 222	2 / 54
		MCA		Malaysian Chinese Association Persatuan Cina Malaysia	Chinese nationalism	Liow Tiong Lai	39	0.45%	1 / 222	1 / 54

Note: A former member party, People's Progressive Party is experiencing a leadership dispute, with Maglin announced that the party remained within the coalition and Kayveas announced that the party had left the coalition.

Leadership Structure

Barisan Nasional Supreme Council since July 2018:^[26]

Chairman: Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (UMNO) Deputy Chairman: Mohamad Hasan (UMNO) Vice-Chairman: Liow Tiong Lai (MCA) Vigneswaran Sanasee (MIC) Secretary-General: Annuar Musa (UMNO) Treasurer-General: Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (UMNO) Women Leader: Dr. Noraini Ahmad (UMNO) Youth Leader: Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (UMNO) Strategic Communications Director: Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (UMNO) Executive Secretary: Mohd. Sumali Reduan (UMNO)

Supreme Council Members: Ismail Sabri Yaakob (UMNO) Mohamed Khaled Nordin (UMNO) Wee Ka Siong (MCA) Ong Ka Chuan (MCA) K. Devamany S. Krishnasamy (MIC) Sakthivel Alagappan (MIC) State Chairman: Johor: Hasni Muhammad (UMNO) Kedah: Jamil Khir Baharom (UMNO) Kelantan: Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (UMNO) Malacca: Ab Rauf Yusoh (UMNO) Negeri Sembilan: Mohamad Hasan (UMNO) Pahang: Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (UMNO) Penang: Tan Teik Cheng (MCA) Perak: Saarani Mohamad (UMNO) Perlis: Mohamed Khaled Nordin (UMNO) Sabah: Salleh Said Keruak (UMNO) Selangor: Ismail Sabri Yaakob (UMNO) Terengganu: Mahdzir Khalid (UMNO) Federal Territories: Johari Abdul Ghani (UMNO)

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the incumbent Chairman of Barisan Nasional.

Elected representatives

Dewan Negara (Senate)

Senators

Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)

Members of Parliament of the 14th Malaysian Parliament

Barisan Nasional has 54 MPs in the House of Representatives, with almost 95% (51 MPs) of them from UMNO.

State	No.	Parliament Constituency	Member	Party
Perlis	P001	Padang Besar	Zahidi Zainul Abidin		UMNO
	P003	Arau	Dr. Shahidan Kassim		UMNO
Kedah	P007	Padang Terap	Mahdzir Khalid		UMNO
	P016	Baling	Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim		UMNO
Kelantan	P026	Ketereh	Annuar Musa		UMNO
	P027	Tanah Merah	Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz		UMNO
	P029	Machang	Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub		UMNO
	P030	Jeli	Mustapa Mohamed		UMNO
	P032	Gua Musang	Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah		UMNO
Terengganu	P033	Besut	Idris Jusoh		UMNO
	P038	Hulu Terengganu	Rosol Wahid		UMNO
Penang	P041	Kepala Batas	Reezal Merican Naina Merican		UMNO
	P042	Tasek Gelugor	Shabudin Yahaya		UMNO
Perak	P054	Gerik	Hasbullah Osman		UMNO
	P055	Lenggong	Shamsul Anuar Nasarah		UMNO
	P056	Larut	Hamzah Zainudin		UMNO
	P061	Padang Rengas	Mohd. Nadzri Abd. Aziz		UMNO
	P067	Kuala Kangsar	Mastura Mohd. Yazid		UMNO
	P069	Parit	Mohd. Nizar Zakaria		UMNO
	P072	Tapah	M. Saravanan Murugan		MIC
	P073	Pasir Salak	Tajuddin Abd. Rahman		UMNO
	P075	Bagan Datuk	Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi		UMNO
Pahang	P078	Cameron Highlands	C. Sivarraajh Chandran		MIC
	P079	Lipis	Abdul Rahman Mohamad		UMNO
	P081	Jerantut	Ahmad Nazlan Idris		UMNO
	P084	Paya Besar	Mohd. Shahar Abdullah		UMNO
	P085	Pekan	Mohd. Najib Abdul Razak		UMNO
	P086	Maran	Ismail Abdul Muttalib		UMNO
	P087	Kuala Krau	Ismail Mohamed Said		UMNO
	P090	Bera	Ismail Sabri Ya'akob		UMNO
	P091	Rompin	Hasan Arifin		UMNO
Selangor	P092	Sabak Bernam	Mohd. Fasiah Mohd. Fakeh		UMNO
	P095	Tanjong Karang	Noh Omar		UMNO
Putrajaya	P125	Putrajaya	Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor		UMNO
Negeri Sembilan	P126	Jelebu	Jalaluddin Alias		UMNO
	P127	Jempol	Mohd. Salim Shariff		UMNO
	P131	Rembau	Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar		UMNO
Malacca	P139	Jasin	Ahmad Hamzah		UMNO
Johor	P147	Parit Sulong	Noraini Ahmad		UMNO
	P148	Ayer Hitam	Wee Ka Siong		MCA
	P153	Sembrong	Hishammuddin Hussein		UMNO
	P154	Mersing	Abdul Latiff Ahmad		UMNO
	P155	Tenggara	Adham Baba		UMNO
	P156	Kota Tinggi	Halimah Mohd. Sadique		UMNO
	P157	Pengerang	Azalina Othman Said		UMNO
	P164	Pontian	Ahmad Maslan		UMNO
Labuan	P166	Labuan	Rozman Isli		UMNO
Sabah	P167	Kudat	Abdul Rahim Bakri		UMNO
	P176	Kimanis	Anifah Aman		UMNO
	P177	Beaufort	Azizah Mohd. Dun		UMNO
	P178	Sipitang	Yamani Hafez Musa		UMNO
	P183	Beluran	Ronald Kiandee		UMNO
	P184	Libaran	Zakaria Mohd. Edris		UMNO
	P187	Kinabatangan	Bung Moktar Radin		UMNO
Total	Perlis (2), Kedah (2), Kelantan (5), Terengganu (2), Penang (2), Perak (9), Pahang (9), Selangor (2), F.T. Putrajaya (1), Negeri Sembilan (3), Malacca (1), Johor (8), F.T. Labuan (1), Sabah (7)

Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly)

Malaysian State Assembly Representatives

Barisan Nasional state governments

State	Leader type	Member	Party		State Constituency
Perlis	Menteri Besar	Azlan Man		UMNO	Bintong
Pahang	Menteri Besar	Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail		UMNO	Jelai

General election results

Election	Total seats won	Share of seats	Total votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election	Election leader
1974	135 / 154	87.7%	1,287,400	60.8%	135 seats; Governing coalition	Abdul Razak Hussein
1978	131 / 154	85.1%	1,987,907	57.2%	4 seats; Governing coalition	Hussein Onn
1982	132 / 154	85.7%	2,522,079	60.5%	1 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1986	148 / 177	83.6%	2,649,263	57.3%	16 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1990	127 / 180	70.6%	2,985,392	53.4%	21 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1995	162 / 192	84.4%	3,881,214	65.2%	35 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1999	148 / 193	76.2%	3,748,511	56.53%	15 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
2004	198 / 219	90.4%	4,420,452	63.9%	51 seats; Governing coalition	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2008	140 / 222	63.1%	4,082,411	50.27%	58 seats; Governing coalition	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2013	133 / 222	59.9%	5,237,555	47.38%	7 seats;[27]Governing coalition	Najib Razak
2018	79 / 222	35.59%	3,794,827	33.96%	54 seats; Opposition	Najib Razak

State election results

References

Literature

• Chok, Suat Ling (4 October 2005). "MPs in the dock". New Straits Times, p. 1, 6.


• Chin, James. 2002. Malaysia: The Barisan National Supremacy. In David Newman & John Fuh-sheng Hsieh (eds), How Asia Votes, pp. 210–233. New York: Chatham House, Seven Bridges Press. ISBN 1-889119-41-5.


• Pillai, M.G.G. (3 November 2005). "National Front parties were not formed to fight for Malaysian independence". Malaysia Not Today
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barisan Nasional.

• Official website


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