1979 Sarawak state election

1979 Sarawak state election
← 1974 15–22 September 1979 1983 →
All 48 seats in the Council Negri
25 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Abdul Rahman Ya'kub None
Party PBB Independent
Alliance BN
Leader's seat Matu-Daro
Seats before 30 0
Seats won 45 3
Seat change Increase15 Increase3
Swing – –
Chief Minister before election

Abdul Rahman Ya'kub
BN-PBB

Elected Chief Minister

Abdul Rahman Ya'kub
BN-PBB

The third Sarawak state election was held from 15 September 1979 to 22 September 1979.[1] It is the first time that Sarawak held state election separately from the 1978 Malaysian general election.[2][3] This is also the first time that the election rallies were banned in Sarawak. However, candidates and political parties were free to hold talks and house to house canvassing for votes.[3]

  1. ^ Edgar, Nigel (4 June 2021). "Sarawak elections through the years". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ Faisal, S Hazis (2012). Domination and Contestation: Muslim Bumiputera Politics in Sarawak. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 3, 91. ISBN 978-981-4311-58-8. Retrieved 18 December 2019. When parliament was dissolved in 1978 to make way for Malaysia's third general elections, Rahman decided not to dissolve the Council Negri to make way for simultaneous negeri and parliamentary elections.
  3. ^ a b Report on the Legislative Assembly General Elections Sarawak, 1979 (Malay-English bilingual version). Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Election Commission. 1981. pp. 24, 38–43.