The 2018 Sabah state election took place on 9 May 2018 in concurrence with the

14th 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' ...

. This election was to elect 60 members of the 15th

Sabah State Legislative Assembly The Sabah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah, Kadazandusun: ''Langga' Tinukuan Pogun Sabah'') is a part of the legislature of Sabah, Malaysia, the other being the governor of Sabah. The assembly meets at the Sabah S ...

. The previous Assembly was dissolved on 7 April 2018.

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 ...

(BN), with the most seats, would be able to form a minority government alone. But BN and

Homeland Solidarity Party Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR; ms, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku ) is a Sabah-based political party. The party was founded on 1 July 2016 by Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Jeffrey G. Kitingan. He is Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan's younger brothe ...

(STAR) decided to form a group of 31 seats, which would allow them to form a coalition government.

Musa Aman Musa Bin Haji Aman ( Jawi: موسى بن حاج أمان; born 30 March 1951) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister, State Minister of Finance from March 2003 to May 2018, Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assemb ...

reinstalled as Chief Minister on 10 May 2018. However,

Sabah Heritage Party The Heritage Party ( ms, Parti Warisan or Warisan) is a multi-racial political party in Malaysia which was rebranded and renamed from the Sabah Heritage Party ( ms, Parti Warisan Sabah), a Sabah-based party led by Shafie Apdal formed earlier o ...

(WARISAN) (including 6 BN assemblymen who switched allegiance to WARISAN),

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 ...

(DAP) and

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 p ...

(PKR), with

confidence and supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of par ...

United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation ( ms, Pertubuhan Kinabalu Progresif Bersatu; abbrev: UPKO) is a multiracial political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. The party was rebranded from its previous party's name, United Pasokmomogun Kad ...

(UPKO), managed to form a pact of 39 seats in order to form a coalition government.

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Juhar Mahiruddin Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Juhar bin Mahiruddin ( ms, جوهر بن ماهرالدين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 5 November 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has been the 10th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah since Janua ...

installed Mohd. Shafie Apdal as the 15th

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

on 12 May 2018. That marks the end of 24-year rule of BN in Sabah and the change of governing party in

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 ...

for the fifth time since 1963.

Election pendulum

The 14th General Election witnessed 29 governmental seats (''later with addition of 10 members from non-governmental seats (6 from UPKO and 4 from UMNO) that decided to support the creation of new state government'') and 31 non-governmental seats (''later became 21 seats after 10 of them decided to support new government'') filled the

. The government side has 11 safe seat and 4 fairly safe seat, while the non-government side has 2 safe seats and 5 fairly safe seats.

Results

The following political parties contested in this election. The following is a summary of results of this election.

, - ! rowspan=2 colspan=4 style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Party ! rowspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Candidates ! colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Vote ! colspan=3 style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Seats , - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Won ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , +/– , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

, , WARISAN, , 44 , , 271,246 , , 31.30 , , 21 , , 35.00 , , New , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

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 ...

, , PH, , 16 , , 126,817 , , 14.63 , , 8 , , 13.33 , , 3 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , rowspan=3, , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, , DAP, , 7 , , 78,901 , , 9.10 , , 6 , , 10.00 , , 2 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, , PKR, , 8 , , 47,723 , , 5.51 , , 2 , , 3.33 , , 5 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" , National Trust Party, , AMANAH, , 1 , , 193 , , 0.02 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

, , BN, , 60 , , 355,091 , , 40.97 , , 29 , , 48.33 , , 19 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , rowspan=8, , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

United Malays National Organisation 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 ...

, , UMNO, , 32 , , 208,600 , , 24.07 , , 17 , , 28.33 , , 14 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

United Sabah Party 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, , 13 , , 70,998 , , 8.19 , , 6 , , 10.00 , , 1 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, , UPKO, , 6 , , 33,395 , , 3.85 , , 5 , , 11.67 , , 1 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

United Sabah People's Party The United Sabah People's Party ( ms, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah; abbreviated: PBRS) is a minority political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. Presently PBRS is being led by its founding and first President; Joseph Kurup. PBRS is officially a c ...

, , PBRS, , 1 , , 8,042 , , 0.93 , , 1 , , 1.67 , , , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Liberal Democratic Party, , LDP, , 4 , , 15,084 , , 1.74 , , 0 , , 0 , , 3 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial List of political parties in Malaysia, pol ...

, , MCA, , 2 , , 14,970 , , 1.73 , , 0 , , 0 , , , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Malaysian People's Movement Party The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia ( en, Malaysian People's Movement Party, commonly abbreviated as GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a liberal political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1968, Gerakan gained prominence in the 1969 general electi ...

, , Gerakan, , 2 , , 4,002 , , 0.46 , , 0 , , 0 , , 2 , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

United Sabah Alliance The United Sabah Alliance ( ms, Gabungan Sabah Bersatu ; abbreviated: USA) was a political coalition bringing together Sabah-based parties in Malaysia. It was jointly founded by the Sabah Progressive Party and Homeland Solidarity Party after SA ...

, , USA, , 58 , , 63,978 , , 7.38 , , 2 , , 3.33 , , 2 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , rowspan=4, , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, , STAR (Sabah), , 18 , , 39,803 , , 4.59 , , 2 , , 3.33 , , 1 , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Sabah People's Hope Party Sabah People's Hope Party or ms, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat / HR ) is a Sabah-based party. The party was formed on 25 October 2016, founded by Lajim Ukin. It was previously a party in the alliance of United Sabah Alliance (US ...

, , PHRS, , 26 , , 17,713 , , 2.04 , , 0 , , 0 , , , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Sabah Progressive Party The Sabah Progressive Party ( ms, Parti Maju Sabah, abbreviated SAPP) is a multiracial political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. It was registered on 21 January 1994 by dissidents led by former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee from ...

, , SAPP, , 5 , , 4,971 , , 0.57 , , 0 , , 0 , , , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Sabah People's Unity Party, , PPRS, , 9 , , 1,491 , , 0.17 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

Gagasan Sejahtera The Gagasan Sejahtera (English: ''Ideas of Prosperity'', abbrev: GS) was a coalition of opposition Islamist political parties which promote the "ideas of peace" in Malaysia. The informal electoral pact was formed initially on 16 March 2016 by P ...

, , GS, , 18 , , 11,241 , , 1.30 , , 0 , , 0 , , , -style="background:#EFEFEF;" , rowspan=1, , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PAS's ...

, , PAS, , 18 , , 11,241 , , 1.30 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

Love Sabah Party The Love Sabah Party or in ms, Parti Cinta Sabah is a political party of Sabah, Malaysia. The PCS is a relatively new party and was among 20 new party registrations approved by the Registrar of Society in 2013. PCS joined together with the S ...

, , PCS, , 18 , , 9,311 , , 1.07 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

Sabah Native Co-operation Party The Sabah Native Cooperation Party ( ms, Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri, abbreviated ''ANAK NEGERI'') is a political party in Malaysia based in Sabah. The party former name is Sabah People's Cooperation Party or ms, Parti Kerjasama Rakyat Sabah ...

, , Anak Negeri, , 9 , , 3,059 , , 0.35 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" , Sabah Nationality Party, , PKS, , 17 , , 2,018 , , 0.23 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

United Sabah National Organisation (New) The United Sabah National Organisation (New) ( ms, Parti Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Sabah Bersatu (Baru); abbrev: USNO (Baru)Shown on Election Commission websites as USNO) is a political party in Sabah, Malaysia. The party was formed in 2013 with the ...

, , USNO, , 2 , , 147 , , 0.02 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" , State Reform Party (Sarawak), , STAR (Sarawak), , 2 , , 109 , , 0.01 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="background-color: ;" , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" , Independents, , IND, , 8 , , 1,079 , , 0.12 , , 0 , , 0 , , , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="5" , Valid votes, , 844,356, , rowspan="2" colspan="4" style="background-color:#dcdcdc;", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="5" ,

Invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use As t ...

blank vote A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote) is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms a ...

s, , 22,369 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="5" , Total votes (

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

: 77.53%), , 866,725, , 100.00, , 60, , 100.00, , TBA , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="5" , Did not vote, , 251,152 , , rowspan="7" colspan="4" style="background-color:#dcdcdc;", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="5" ,

Registered voters In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ...

, , 1,117,877 , - , , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4" , Ordinary voters, , 0 , - , , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4" , Early voters, , 0 , - , , , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4" , Postal voters, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="9" , Source:

Election Commission of Malaysia The Election Commission of Malaysia ( ms, Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia), abbreviated SPR or EC, is a commission set up for ensuring fair and equitable operations in undertaking the elections in Malaysia. Its establishment is mandated by ex ...

(SPR)

Government formation

In the 2018 general election, WARISAN together with the coalition of

(PH) are tied up with 29-29 seats with the Barisan Nasional in the election.

Jeffrey Kitingan Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan (born 22 October 1948) is Malaysian politician. He served as the Deputy Chief Minister II of Sabah from 2020 to 2023 and State Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries since 2020 (also served in the same position for a b ...

with his party of

(STAR) under the

(USA) which are not aligned from either the two sides, has won two seats in the election and subsequently emerged as the decision maker for the formation of a state government from the two sides. Kitingan then decide to team up with the BN to form coalition state government with him appointed as a Deputy Chief Minister while

from BN to become the Chief Minister for another 5 years under the new coalition government. However, the situation changed when six seats assemblymen from the BN allied parties of

(UPKO) and

(PBRS) switched their allegiance to WARISAN, giving Shafie an advantage with 35 seats which is sufficient to establish a coalition state government. Earlier, Musa Aman had initially been sworn in as Chief Minister following the help of two seats from STAR. This situation has left Sabah with two ruling Chief Ministers, the second time in its history since the dispute between PBS and USNO in 1980s. The result of these events sparks a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this d ...

in Sabah, and the need to review and change the current constitution so as to curb the "allegiance switching" of assemblymen, after the swearing-in ceremony of the chief minister. Another four seats assemblymen from BN allied parties of UMNO and UPKO switching their allegiance to WARISAN on 13 May 2018. The

Yang di-Pertua Negeri In Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri ( in Malay) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in states without a Ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak. This is in constrast to a Ruler () which is a constitutional title giv ...

(TYT)

also had requested for Musa to step down, despite Musa still stressing that he still the rightful Chief Minister. Musa was then issued a letter from the TYT that he is no longer the Chief Minister effective from 12 May 2018 that was delivered into his residence on 14 May 2018.

References

{{Malaysian elections

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2018 elections in Malaysia May 2018 events in Malaysia Elections in Sabah