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1981 Sabah state election

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All 48 seats in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Harris Salleh Said Keruak Steven Chan Tze Hiang Party BERJAYA USNO SCCP Alliance Barisan Nasional (federal) Barisan Nasional (federal) Barisan Sabah (state) Barisan Sabah (state) Leader since 1976 1961 Leader's seat Tenom Usukan Bandar Tawau Last election 28 seats 20 seats – Seats won 44 3 1 Seat change 16 17 New
Chief Minister before election Harris Salleh Barisan Nasional, (BERJAYA) Elected Chief Minister Harris Salleh Barisan Nasional, (BERJAYA)

The 1981 Sabah state election was held between Monday, 23 March and Saturday, 28 March 1981. This was the fourth state election to take place. The Sabah State Legislative Assembly was dissolved on 21 February 1981, 2 months earlier than the expiry of the Assembly term on 26 April 1981. Candidates nomination took place on 7 March 1981.

In the election, BERJAYA Party led by Harris Salleh, an ally of federal government party Barisan Nasional (BN), won the election with a supermajority of 44 seats out of 48, and thus continued its governance of the state won since the last election on 1976. USNO, another component party of BN but opposition to BERJAYA on state level, created a coalition, Barisan Sabah, with PASOK and SCCP to fight BERJAYA. However the result were disastrous to the new coalition as they only won 4 seats; USNO reduced from 20 to 3 seats, SCCP winning one seat and PASOK none.

Results

Aftermath

Harris were sworn in as Chief Minister for his second term, along with sworn in of his cabinet minister, on 30 March.

After USNO and Barisan Sabah's comprehensive defeat in the election, Said Keruak stepped down as USNO leader, replaced by Mustapha Harun, the former USNO leader and former Chief Minister. USNO would later expelled from BN in 1984, due to Mustapha's action against BN, one of which opposing the move to make Labuan a Federal Territory.

Internal clashes within BERJAYA led to Joseph Pairin Kitingan, the party's vice-president, exiting BERJAYA with several of the party assemblymen and formed Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS). Pairin also won a December 1984 by-election, as an independent, in the Tambunan seat he had to vacate due to his resignation from BERJAYA and Sabah Assembly. These events led to Harris calling a snap election in March 1985, with the election held on 20–21 April 1985. PBS succeeded in toppling the BERJAYA government, winning 25 seats and setting in motion the 1985-1986 constitutional crisis in Sabah.

References

1. ^ "Tunku: Do not spoilt votes". 11 March 1981. p. 11. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
2. Laporan Pilihan Raya Umum Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah, Tahun 1981, Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya
3. "Who's where for the five-day polls". 8 March 1981. p. 9. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
4. ^ "It's a knock-out by Berjaya". 29 March 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
5. Omar, Amin (31 March 1981). "We'll follow Hussein's advice - Harris". news.google.com. New Straits Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
6. "Usno chief to step down". The Straits Times. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. New Straits Times. 11 April 1981. p. 17. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
7. Datuk Teddy Chin (3 July 2022). "The rise, fall and rise again of Usno". www.dailyexpress.com.my. Daily Express (Malaysia). Retrieved 1 January 2023.
8. Bernama (16 April 1984). "Usno expelled from National Front". The Straits Times. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. p. 16. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
9. Arnold Puyok (February 2011). "Political Development in Sabah, 1985-2010. Challenges in Malaysian Federalism and Ethnic Politics" (Discussion paper). irasec.com. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
10. "Kitingan beats Berjaya man in Tambunan by-election". 31 December 1984. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2023.

v t e State elections in Malaysia
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Johor	1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
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Pahang	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Penang	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Perak	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Perlis	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Sabah	1964 (indirect) 1967 1971 1976 1981 1985 1986 1990 1994 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2020 2025
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Selangor	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Terengganu	1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Singapore	1963

v t e Elections in Malaysia
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State	1954 1955 1959 (Malaya) 1959 (Sarawak) 1963 1964 1967 1969 1971 1974 1976 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1990 1991 1994 1995 1996 1999 2001 2004 2006 2008 2011 2013 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023
Local	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
See also: Federal by-elections State by-elections Elections in Johor Kedah Kelantan Kuala Lumpur Labuan Malacca Negeri Sembilan Pahang Penang Perak Perlis Putrajaya Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu

• Sabah state elections
• 1981 elections in Malaysia