The 2011 Sarawak State Elections: Pakatan's Electoral Performance

The 2011 Sarawak state elections was held in April 2011 and it was a tense battle between the ruling BN and the new comer opposition Pakatan Rakyat. The study is based on the assumption that there is a linkage between PR’s campaign strategies and election manifesto and the voters’ preference. Therefore, it investigates the linkage between campaign strategies and manifesto of Pakatan Rakyat and its performance in the 2011 Sarawak State elections. The study argues that the opposition for the first time collectively campaigned as a single opposition coalition under the name of Pakatan Rakyat. PR’s campaign strategies were quite sound and practical and proposed several strategies which can be labeled as a new type of approach. The study found that even though PR did not get the two-thirds majority in the State Legislative Assembly, it succeeded to capture more seats; pointing to the fact that there is a shift of support from the incumbent BN government towards the opposition PR.