1987 Sarawak state election


The fifth Sarawak state election was held between Wednesday, 15 April and Thursday, 16 April 1987 with a nomination date set on Monday, 6 April 1987. This was a snap election following the Ming Court affair. The state assembly was dissolved on 12 March 1987 by Sarawak governor with the advice of chief minister of Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud.
All the 48 Sarawak state assembly seats were contested. In this election, Sarawak Barisan Nasional fielded candidates for all 48 seats, PBDS for 21 seats, PERMAS for 21 seats, Democratic Action Party for 11 seats, and Sarawak Democratik Bersatu for one seat. There were 16 independents contesting for the seats. There were a total of 118 candidates vying for the seats, which was the lowest since 1979 election.

Background

This snap election was called by Taib due to heightening of 1987 Ming Court Affair political crisis when Abdul Rahman Ya'kub together with 27 other state assemblymen signed a letter to call for Taib resignation. Abdul Rahman formed a new political party named Persatuan Rakyat Malaysia Sarawak just before the election. Together with Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak, Abdul Rahman would form an opposition alliance to challenge Taib at the polls.

Results

Results by party

Results by constituency

Sarawak BN, composed of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Sarawak United Peoples' Party, and Sarawak National Party, won 28 out of 48 seats on the election day, thus able to form a government with a simple majority.
The full list of representatives is shown below:
No.State ConstituencyElected State Assembly MembersElected Party----
IND 0IND 0IND 0IND 0IND 0IND 0IND 0IND 0
N01LunduRamsay Noel JitamBN----
N02Tasik BiruPatau Anak Rubis @ Dr Patau RubisBN----
N03PadunganSong Swee GuanBN----
N04StampinSim Kheng HongBN----
N05Petra JayaSharifah Mordiah Tuanku Haji FauziBN----
N06SatokAbang Zohari bin Tun Abang Haji OpengBN----
N07SebandiDatuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Taib bin MahmudBN----
N08Muara TuangAdanan bin Haji SatemBN----
N09Batu KawahChong Kiun KongBN----
N10BengohSora Anak RusahPBDS----
N11TaratFrederick Bayoi ManggieBN----
N12TebakangMichael Ben Ak PanggiPBDS----
N13SemeraWan Wahab bin Wan SanusiBN----
N14GedongMohammad Tawan bin Abdullah @ Hilary Tawan Ak MasanPERMAS----
N15LinggaDonald LawanBN----
N16Sri AmanMichael Pilo anak GanggaBN----
N17EngkililiSim Choo NamPBDS----
N18Batang AirMikai anak MandauPBDS----
N19SaribasBolhassan bin DiBN----
N20LayarAlfred Jabu Anak NumpangBN----
N21KalakaDatuk Amar Yusuf PutehPERMAS----
N22KrianDatuk Edmund Langgu anak SagaPBDS----
N23Kuala RajangHamdan bin AhmadBN----
N24Matu-DaroWahab Haji DollahBN----
N25RepokDavid Teng Lung ChiBN----
N26MeradongThomas Hii Kiang HiongBN----
N27MalingDatuk Dr Wong Soon KaiBN----
N28SeduanTing Ing MiengBN----
N29IganDavid Tiong Chiong ChuPERMAS----
N30DudongJawan EmpalingBN----
N31BalingianAbdul Aziz MajidBN----
N32OyaWan Madzidhi MahdzarPERMAS----
N33PakanJawie Wilson MasingPBDS----
N34MeluanGerman anak ItamPBDS----
N35MachanGramong JunaPBDS----
N36NgemahJoseph anak KudiPBDS----
N37KatibasFelix Bantin anak JibanPBDS----
N38PelagusPhi Limon anak NuingPBDS----
N39BalehJames Jemut anak MasingPBDS----
N40BelagaNyipa Killah @ Nyipa BatoBN----
N41TatauBolhassan bin KambarPBDS----
N42KemenaDatuk Celestine Ujang Anak JilangBN----
N43SubisDatuk Salleh JafaruddinPERMAS----
N44MiriDr George Chan Hong NamBN----
N45MarudiEdward Jeli Anak BlayongPBDS----
N46Telang UsanBalan SelingPBDS----
N47LimbangDato James Wong Kim MinBN----
N48LawasAwang Tengah bin Ali HassanBN----

Percentage of votes garnered by each party

Political partiesNumber of
votes		Percentage of
votes
Barisan Nasional249,28955.25
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak79,54817.63
Persatuan Rakyat Malaysia Sarawak64,15214.22
Democratic Action Party51,34111.38
Sarawak Democratic Bersatu840.02
Independent 6,8201.51
Total451,234100

Summary

PartySeats
contested		Seats won
Barisan Nasional:4828
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu2314
Sarawak United People's Party1411
Sarawak National Party113
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak2115
Persatuan Rakyat Malaysia Sarawak215
Democratic Action Party110
Sarawak Democratic Bersatu10
Independent 160
Total N/A48