Barisan Nasional

The National Front (Malay: Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a right-wing political party in Malaysia, originally founded in 1973 as a coalition of right-wing and centre parties. It is the largest party in the Parliament of Malaysia, with party chairman Najib Razak serving as Prime Minister of Malaysia from 3 April 2009. In state level, it is also the largest party in the 10 of 13 state legislative assemblies of Malaysia.

History

Formation

The Barisan Nasional is the direct successor to the three-party (UMNO, MCA, MIC) Alliance coalition and was formed in the aftermath of the 1969 general election and the 13 May riots. The Alliance Party lost ground in the 1969 election to the opposition parties, in particular the two newly formed parties Democratic Action Party and Gerakan, as well as Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). Although the Alliance won a majority of seats, it gained less than half the popular vote, and the resulting tension between different communities led to riots and the declaration of a state of emergency. After the Malaysian Parliament reconvened in 1971, negotiations began with former opposition parties such as Gerakan and People's Progressive Party, both of which joined the Alliance in 1972, quickly followed by PAS.