The Barisan Alternatif (BA, '' lit.'' Alternative Front) was a coalition of Malaysian opposition parties, formed as a counterweight to the ruling Barisan Nasional. Disbanded after the 2004 general elections, all 4 former component parties of BA (then 3, after a merger of 2 of the parties) have formed a new coalition,

Pakatan Rakyat The People's Alliance ( ms, Pakatan Rakyat; abbrev: PR) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DA ...

, following the 2008 general elections.

Formation

The impetus for the BA's formation was 20 September 1998 arrest and subsequent conviction of former UMNO deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who had been fired from his government posts and subsequently became the leader of the '' Reformasi'' movement against UMNO. On 24 October 1999, the four largest opposition parties—the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), the

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 the ...

(DAP), the

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 ...

(

Keadilan 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 ...

) and the Malaysian People's Party – announced an electoral alliance and issued a joint manifesto. In the 1999 general elections, the BA co-operated to contest only one candidate in each constituency. The big winner was PAS, which captured the states of Kelantan and Terengganu and increased its parliamentary seats from 7 to 27. DAP increased its share from 7 to 10 but with two of its most prominent leaders, Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh losing their constituencies. This disappointing performance was blamed mostly on its largely Chinese electorate's distrust of the alliance with PAS. The newly formed Keadilan, crippled by the detention of many of its leaders, took only 5 seats. The Barisan Nasional retained a 77% absolute majority with 148 of 193 seats.

Fragmentation

From the very beginning, the alliance had been strained by PAS's unwillingness to publicly renounce its aim of making Malaysia an Islamic state, a position that was anathema to Malaysia's 30% non-Muslim minority. However, the strain increased after PAS's election victory and the minority parties' realisation that they were losing votes to the fear of an Islamic state. Shortly after the

11 September attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

, the DAP announced its withdrawal from the Barisan Alternatif on 21 September 2001. The split has led to infighting between the opposition parties in the 2004 general election. As they could not agree in the allocation of seats in each state, many seats had multiple contestants. Ties between Keadilan and PAS were also strained, as was evident in PAS' refusal to support Parti Rakyat Malaysia's bid in the

Kota Bharu Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River. The ...

parliamentary seat.

Resurgence

By the 2008 general election however, the main opposition parties has realigned themselves to strategically avoid three-corner contests in the election, eventually leading to a major electoral setback for Barisan Nasional. This alliance was partly due to the PAS's softened approach prior to the elections by focusing on economic issues, criticising BN for dissolving parliament during the Lunar New Year period, and fielding its first non-Muslim candidate. Anwar Ibrahim's role as a highly influential opposition figurehead and his efforts to rally the various opposition parties also helped. Formal resurrection of Barisan Alternatif may take place given the resounding victory which has resulted from the allocation pact between PAS, DAP and PKR.Channelnewsasia.com – Special Reports
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