The 1990 Sabah state election was held between Monday, 16 July and Tuesday, 17 July 1990.

Parti Bersatu Sabah The United Sabah Party ( ms, Parti Bersatu Sabah, abbreviated PBS) is a political party of Sabah. The PBS was founded by Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1985 and it is Sabah's oldest local party. In August 2020, PBS confirmed that they would be using ...

(PBS) was the incumbent ruling party in the state and part of the

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

coalition, which PBS joined after the 1986 state election. In the election, PBS won with the same seat as the previous election, 34.

United Sabah National Organization The United Sabah National Organisation ( ms, Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Sabah Bersatu; abbrev: USNO) was a political party in North Borneo and later Sabah, Malaysia. The widely known Sabah's Muslim indigenous especially Suluk-Bajau ethnic based pa ...

(USNO) winning the remaining 14 seats to become the main opposition, while other parties, including former state government party

BERJAYA Sabah People's United Front or in Malay ''Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah'' is more commonly known by its abbreviation BERJAYA, was a political party based in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. BERJAYA was formed by former United Sabah National Or ...

, did not win any seat.

Contesting parties

USNO was also a member of the BN but rival of PBS. Therefore, PBS and USNO candidates were made to contest under their own party tickets. Among other parties contesting for the first time including

AKAR Akar is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Furkan Akar (born 2002), Turkish short track speed skater * Hulusi Akar (born 1952), Turkish Army general * Meltem Akar (born 1982), Turkish female boxer * Nasuh Akar (1925–19 ...

formed by former PBS vice-president Mark Koding, PBS member Kalakau Untol, and USNO ex-member

Pandikar Amin Mulia Pandikar Amin bin Mulia ( Jawi: ڤنديكر أمين بن مليا; born 17 September 1955) is a Malaysian politician who has served as President of United Sabah National Organisation (New) (USNO Baru) since February 2021. He served as 8th ...

; Parti Rakyat Sabah formed by ex-BERJAYA member James Ongkili, and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Peninsula-based

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party ( abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Malaysia. As one of four component parties of th ...

is also contesting in Sabah.

Results

Aftermath

PBS'

Joseph Pairin Kitingan Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan (born 17 August 1940) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Sabah from April 1985 to March 1994 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Keningau from August 1986 to Ma ...

were sworn in as Chief Minister for the third time, on 18 July 1990. The state EXCO members were sworn in the following day. On October that year, just before the

1990 Malaysian general election A general election was held between Saturday, 20 October and Sunday, 21 October 1990 for members of the 8th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 180 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to ...

, Pairin announced PBS exit from BN and joining

Gagasan Rakyat The Gagasan Rakyat (GR or ''People's Might'') was an opposition Malaysian political coalition. The now defunct political coalition was founded by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's formation of Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46 or Semangat 46) after leavin ...

coalition with

(DAP). BERJAYA continued its decline from its heyday as a government in 1976-1985 with defeats in all constituencies, including in Sipitang where its leader

Harris Salleh Harris bin Mohd Salleh (born 4 November 1930) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th Chief Minister of Sabah from June 1976 to April 1985. During his tenure, he controversially ceded the island of Labuan, which used to be part of stat ...

lost to PBS and garnering only 969 votes. It even fails to retain its only seat in Buang Sayang, also won by PBS candidate. This was the final election that BERJAYA contests. The following year on 21 February, USNO were changed into a new entity, the Sabah chapter of Peninsula-based

United Malays National Organization The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its i ...

(UMNO) under BN. BERJAYA would merge into UMNO Sabah 2 months later, when it was announced by Harris on 11 April that he and all members of BERJAYA are joining UMNO Sabah. In 1992 5 USNO assemblyman join PBS. The other 7 USNO member remained within UMNO Sabah.

References

{{Malaysian state elections Sabah state elections

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...