Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak for Malaysian Prime Minister in 2008

It is Barisan Nasional (BN) worst performance in a general election since independence in 1957. They suffered its biggest electoral upset ever, losing control of four state governments and failing to win the crucial two-thirds majority in parliament.

The opposition alliance of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the Islamic Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), won 81 seats. In the outgoing parliament, the opposition had 19 seats.

The only other time the 14-party BN coalition failed to win a two-thirds majority was in 1969 when it secured 66% of the seats. This time, it would have only 63.5% if it wins the remaining two seats. A two-thirds majority is needed to amend the Constitution. The last time the BN lost that majority was in the 1969 election.

In the 2004 elections, BN had a landslide victory when they clinched 199 of the 219 seats.

Adding insult to the BN's woes this time, the coalition lost control of four states - Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor, while PAS secured two-thirds majority to keep its hold on Kelantan.

Indicative of the scale of the debacle, three of BN's component parties - the MCA, Gerakan and MIC - were almost routed. MIC president S. Samy Vellu, Gerakan acting president Koh Tsu Koon and PPP president M. Kayveas were trounced. Many of his senior Ministers lost their seats yesterday, including Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, and Zainudin Maidin "The Fool Award" winner.

PM Abdullah, who is also the BN chairman, retained his Kepala Batas parliamentary seat in Penang. Interestingly, Umno deputy president Mohd Najib Abd Razak delivered Pahang and won his Pekan parliamentary seat by a bigger majority compared with 2004. The party will most likely look at this and weigh the options for this year's Umno elections, expected in August. After the worst showing in the history of the country's general election yesterday, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to do the right thing and that is to step down and resign.

Saturday's poll, called before it was due in May 2009, was widely seen as a referendum on PM Abdullah's rule, and Malaysians took the opportunity to administer a stinging rebuke over price rises, religious disputes and concerns over corruption.

Chinese and Indians account for a third of the population of 26 million and many complain the government discriminates in favour of Malays when it comes to education, jobs, financial assistance and religious policy. About 70 percent of Malaysia's 10.9 million eligible voters had cast ballots, the country's top poll.

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to hold a media conference at the grounds of his residence, Seri Cahaya, Mines Resort City, 11am today Sunday 9 March 2008. As usual, bloggers are all welcomed. Whatever the Tun plans to say at the media conference later, I don't think, Pak Lah wold enjoy hearing...

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