Barisan Nasional facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barisan Nasional
English name	National Front
Abbreviation	BN
Chairman	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
General Secretary	Zambry Abdul Kadir
Deputy Chairman	Mohamad Hasan
Vice Chairman	Wee Ka Siong Vigneswaran Sanasee Arthur Joseph Kurup
Advisor	Najib Razak
Treasurer-General	Johari Abdul Ghani
Founder	Abdul Razak Hussein
Founded	1 June 1974 (1974-06-01)
Legalised	1 June 1974
Preceded by	Alliance
Succeeded by	Gabungan Parti Sarawak (in Sarawak) (2018)
Headquarters	Aras 8, Menara Dato’ Onn, Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur
Student wing	Barisan Nasional Student Movement
Youth wing	Barisan Nasional Youth Movement
Women's wing	Barisan Nasional Women Movement
Ideology	Majority: Conservatism (Malaysian) Social conservatism National conservatism Economic liberalism Factions: Ketuanan Melayu Malaysian Chinese interests Malaysian Indian interests Dravidian movement
Political position	Centre-right to right-wing
National affiliation	Perikatan Nasional (2020–2022) National Unity Government (since 2022)
Regional affiliation	Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (2020–2023) Gabungan Parti Sarawak (since 2020)
Colours	Royal blue      Sky white
Slogan	Rakyat Didahulukan (People's First, Nation First) Hidup Rakyat (Long Live the People!)
Anthem	Barisan Nasional
Dewan Negara	13 / 70
Dewan Rakyat	30 / 222
State Legislative Assemblies	122 / 611
Chief minister of states	4 / 13
Election symbol
Political parties

Barisan Nasional (BN), also known as the National Front in English, is a group of political parties in Malaysia. It was formed in 1974. This group of parties works together to win elections and govern the country.

BN is currently the third largest political group in the Dewan Rakyat, which is like Malaysia's Parliament. They have 30 seats. The largest group is Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 82 seats, followed by Perikatan Nasional (PN) with 74 seats.

The main parties that make up Barisan Nasional are the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), and the United Sabah People's Party (PBRS). These parties represent different communities in Malaysia.

Barisan Nasional and its earlier version, the Alliance Party, led Malaysia for almost 61 years, from 1957 to 2018. This made them one of the longest-ruling political groups in a democratic country. However, since 2008, they have faced tougher challenges from other political groups.

In the 2018 general election, Barisan Nasional lost control of the government for the first time in Malaysia's history. They became the opposition. After this, some parties from Sabah and Sarawak left BN to form their own groups. Barisan Nasional returned to power in 2020 as part of a new government. In the 2022 election, they won fewer seats but are still part of the government by supporting Pakatan Harapan.

How Barisan Nasional Started

Barisan Nasional was created after the 1969 general election and some difficult events that followed. The original Alliance Party, which was made of three main parties, lost some support in that election. This led to tensions between different communities.

To bring more stability, leaders started talking with other parties. Groups like Gerakan and the People's Progressive Party joined the Alliance in 1972. The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) also joined in 1973.

Barisan Nasional was officially registered in June 1974. It included nine parties, including regional parties from Sabah and Sarawak. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, BN won the 1974 general election with great success.

Years of Leadership (1977–2007)

In 1977, the PAS party left Barisan Nasional. However, BN continued to win elections easily in the 1980s and 1990s. They kept their strong position in Malaysian politics.

By 2003, Barisan Nasional had grown to include more than a dozen parties. They did very well in the 2004 general election, winning 198 out of 219 seats.

Even though Barisan Nasional did not always win more than two-thirds of the total votes, they managed to keep a two-thirds majority of seats in Parliament until 2008. This was partly due to Malaysia's voting system.

Recent Challenges (2008–2018)

In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional lost many parliamentary seats to a group of opposition parties called Pakatan Rakyat. This was the first time since 1969 that BN did not have a two-thirds majority in Parliament. They also lost control of five state governments.

The challenges continued in the 2013 general election. BN won even fewer seats and received less than half of the total votes. Despite this, they still managed to keep control of Parliament. In 2015, some issues affected BN's public image.

In the 2018 general election, Barisan Nasional lost control of Parliament to Pakatan Harapan. They won only 79 seats. This big loss ended their 61-year rule and marked the first time the government changed in Malaysia's history. BN became the opposition.

After this defeat, many parties left Barisan Nasional. This reduced the number of parties in BN from 13 to just 4. Some of these parties joined the new government, formed new local groups, or became independent.

Barisan Nasional Today (2019–Present)

In January 2019, most of BN's branches in Sabah closed, leaving only two seats for BN in Sabah.

However, since 2019, Barisan Nasional has started to regain some support. They won several special elections, defeating Pakatan Harapan.

In September 2019, UMNO, the main party in BN, formed a partnership with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). This partnership, called Muafakat Nasional, aims to unite Malay Muslim communities. Barisan Nasional, still made up of UMNO, MCA, MIC, and PBRS, later joined with Perikatan Nasional to form a new government in March 2020. They formed another government in August 2021.

Barisan Nasional also regained control of the state governments in Johor, Malacca, and Perak. In November 2021, BN won a large majority in the Malacca state election. In March 2022, they also won a big victory in the Johor state election.

In the 2022 general election, BN had its toughest result ever, winning only 30 out of 222 seats. Many important BN leaders lost their seats. The election resulted in no single group having a clear majority. However, BN decided to support Pakatan Harapan, and as a result, they are part of the current government.

How Barisan Nasional Works

Barisan Nasional is a group of political parties that work together. Each party in BN usually represents a specific community. For example, UMNO mainly represents Malays, MCA represents Chinese, and MIC represents Indians.

Even though BN is registered as a single political group, its members usually join through one of the smaller parties within it. All candidates in elections use the BN symbol, and there is a common plan for the country. However, each individual party also has its own goals and plans.

Main Parties in Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is currently made up of four main parties:

• UMNO (United Malays National Organisation)
• MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association)
• MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress)
• PBRS (United Sabah People's Party)

They also have other parties that work with them, like the Love Malaysia Party (PCM) and the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA).

Leaders of Barisan Nasional

The leader of Barisan Nasional is called the Chairman. Here is a list of the Chairmen since the party was founded:

No.	Name	Portrait	Time in Office
1	Abdul Razak Hussein		1 January 1973	14 January 1976
2	Hussein Onn		15 January 1976	28 June 1981
3	Mahathir Mohamad		28 June 1981	4 February 1988
–	Ling Liong Sik (Acting)		4 February 1988	16 February 1988
(3)	Mahathir Mohamad		16 February 1988	30 October 2003
4	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi		31 October 2003	26 March 2009
5	Najib Razak		26 March 2009	12 May 2018
6	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi		30 June 2018	18 December 2018
–	Mohamad Hasan (Acting)		18 December 2018	30 June 2019
(6)	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi		30 June 2019	Incumbent

Who Leads Barisan Nasional?

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the current Chairman of Barisan Nasional.

The main leaders of Barisan Nasional include:

• Chairman: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (from UMNO)
• Deputy Chairman: Mohamad Hasan (from UMNO)
• Vice-Chairmen: Wee Ka Siong (MCA), Vigneswaran Sanasee (MIC), Arthur Joseph Kurup (PBRS)
• Secretary-General: Zambry Abdul Kadir (UMNO)
• Treasurer-General: Johari Abdul Ghani (UMNO)
• Advisor: Mohd Najib Abdul Razak (UMNO)

Barisan Nasional in Government

Barisan Nasional has members in both the national Parliament (Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara) and in the state assemblies across Malaysia.

They currently have 30 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Dewan Rakyat. Most of these MPs are from UMNO.

Barisan Nasional also leads the state governments in Johor, Malacca, Pahang, and Perak. In other states like Negeri Sembilan, Penang, and Selangor, they are part of the government by working with Pakatan Harapan. This is part of the "National Unity Government" formed after the 2022 general election.

Many BN leaders also hold important positions in the national government, including Deputy Prime Minister and various ministerial roles.

Election Results

Barisan Nasional has taken part in every general election in Malaysia since 1974. Here's a look at how they have performed in national elections:

Election	Total seats won	Share of seats	Total votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election	Election leader
1974	135 / 154	87.7%	1,287,400	60.8%	135 seats; Governing coalition	Abdul Razak Hussein
1978	131 / 154	85.1%	1,987,907	57.2%	4 seats; Governing coalition	Hussein Onn
1982	132 / 154	85.7%	2,522,079	60.5%	1 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1986	148 / 177	83.6%	2,649,263	57.3%	16 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1990	127 / 180	70.6%	2,985,392	53.4%	21 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1995	162 / 192	84.4%	3,881,214	65.2%	35 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
1999	148 / 193	76.2%	3,748,511	56.53%	15 seats; Governing coalition	Mahathir Mohamad
2004	198 / 219	90.4%	4,420,452	63.9%	51 seats; Governing coalition	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2008	140 / 222	63.1%	4,082,411	50.27%	58 seats; Governing coalition	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2013	133 / 222	59.9%	5,237,555	47.38%	7 seats; Governing coalition	Najib Razak
2018	79 / 222	35.59%	3,794,827	33.96%	54 seats; Opposition coalition (2018-2020) Governing coalition with Perikatan Nasional (2020-2022)	Najib Razak
2022	30 / 222	13.51%	3,462,231	22.36%	49 seats; Governing coalition with Pakatan Harapan, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Parti Warisan	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi