The 14th Kedah State election was held on 9 May 2018, concurrently with the
2018 Malaysian general election
The 2018 Malaysian General Election, formally known as the 14th Malaysian General Election (), was held on Wednesday, 9 May 2018, for members of the 14th Parliament of Malaysia. At stake were all 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat (the legislature' ...
. The previous state election was held on 5 May 2013. The state assemblymen is elected to 5 years term each.
The
Kedah State Legislative Assembly
The Kedah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Kedah) is the state legislature of the Malaysian state of Kedah. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 36 lawmakers representing single-member constituencies thro ...
would automatically dissolve on 23 June 2018, the fifth anniversary of the first sitting, and elections must be held within sixty days (two months) of the dissolution (on or before 21 August 2018, with the date to be decided by the Election Commission), unless dissolved prior to that date by the Head of State (
Sultan of Kedah
The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Uni ...
) on the advice of the Head of Government (
Menteri Besar of Kedah
The Menteri Besar of Kedah or the First Minister of Kedah is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Kedah. According to convention, the Menteri Besar is the leader of the majority party or largest coalition party of the Kedah State Legis ...
).
The state election resulting in a
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
, as no parties gained simple majority.
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...
(PH) gained a
plurality in the election, winning 18 seats but still short of 1 seat for a simple majority win; nevertheless PH were invited by Sultan of Kedah to form the state government.
Mukhriz Mahathir
Dato' Seri Utama Mukhriz bin Tun Dr. Mahathir ( Jawi: مخرج بن محاضر; born 25 November 1964) is a Malaysian politician who twice served as the 11th and 13th Menteri Besar of Kedah from May 2013 to February 2016 and again from May 2 ...
, from
BERSATU
The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( ms, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (). It is a major c ...
, was sworn in as Menteri Besar on 11 May 2018.
Contenders
Barisan Nasional (BN) contested all 36 seats in
Kedah State Legislative Assembly
The Kedah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Kedah) is the state legislature of the Malaysian state of Kedah. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 36 lawmakers representing single-member constituencies thro ...
.
Barisan Nasional (BN) linchpin party
United Malays National Organisation (UNMO) is to set to contest major share of
Barisan Nasional (BN) seats.
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamen ...
(PAS) also contested all 36 seats in
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
.
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...
have decided to contest all 36 seats in
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
. On 4 February 2018, Pakatan Harapan has yet to finalize 4 seats. The seats are
Guar Chempedak,
Pantai Merdeka
Pantai Merdeka is a coastal location in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. It has the only sand beach in mainland Kedah, and it is the major attraction for beach goers from all over northern Penang and Kedah State. Various accommodation is av ...
,
Gurun and
Kulim
The Kulim District is a district and town in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. It is located on the southeast of Kedah, bordering Penang. The town of Kulim, a mere east of Penang's capital city, George Town, also forms part of Greater Penang, Ma ...
. On 26 February 2018, Pakatan Harapan has completed the distribution of seats in Kedah.
Malaysian United Indigenous Party
The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( ms, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (). It is a major c ...
(Bersatu) is to set to contest major share of
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...
seats.
Malaysian United Indigenous Party
The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( ms, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (). It is a major c ...
(Bersatu) will contest in 14 seats while the
National Trust Party (Amanah) will have 10 seats.
People's Justice Party
The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. The ...
(PKR) and the
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...
(DAP) will contest 10 and 2 seats.
Political parties
The contested seats
Election pendulum
The 14th General Election witnessed 18 governmental seats and 18 non-governmental seats filled the
Kedah State Legislative Assembly
The Kedah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Kedah) is the state legislature of the Malaysian state of Kedah. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 36 lawmakers representing single-member constituencies thro ...
. The government side has 1 safe seat and 3 fairly safe seats. However, none of the non-government side has safe and fairly safe seat.
Results
By parliamentary constituency
Pakatan Harapan won 9 of 15 parliamentary constituency.
Seats that changed allegiance
Aftermath
Kedah BN leader and previous Menteri Besar
Ahmad Bashah said that his party accepted their defeat to PH in the election.
The Pakatan Harapan state government led by Mukhriz only lasts 25 months, when in the wake of 2020 Malaysian political crisis, exit of Bersatu MLAs from PH and defection of support from ex-PH members turned independent, resulted in Mukhriz resignation as Menteri Besar. A new state government was formed in a coalition between BN,
Perikatan Nasional
The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coalition was pr ...
(Bersatu and PAS) and independent MLAs, with
Sanusi Mohd Nor from PAS appointed as the new Menteri Besar on 17 May 2020. Mukhriz and
Amiruddin Hamzah was later sacked from Bersatu on 28 May 2020, and they formed a new political party,
PEJUANG on August that same year with other ex-Bersatu members.
References
{{Malaysian state elections
Kedah state elections
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...