Preliminary findings of data comparing voting patterns during the 1999 and 2004 general election suggests an increase in women's support for Barisan Nasional.

Asst Prof Bridget Welsh of John Hopkins University said her research shows that women's support for opposition front Barisan Alternatif fell during the 11th general election conducted last March.

"This was true especially in certain constituents and for certain parties like PAS," said Welsh, who has conducted research in the region over the last two decades.

A Southeast Asian Studies scholar, she presented her findings on gender voting research during a seminar attended by about 20 participants, including opposition parliamentarians, lawyers and students in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 18.

Welsh said she had used voter numbers for 20 seats from 458 polling stations in 1999 and five seats from 89 polling stations last year.

While acknowledging that the sample size was relatively small in relation to gender voting patterns, she said there is more research data on trends linked to ethnic origin, age and economic class.

"The numbers should be treated as indicators as the data is still evolving. They point to an interesting difference in gender voting over time and in each election," she later told malaysiakini .

Perception disputed

Welsh said she studied the correlation between the percentage of male and female voters and their support for BN in state and parliamentary seats.

"For example, a polling district with a high proportion of men in 1999 was seen to correlate more strongly with support for BN than was the case for women," she said.

The BN secured additional votes from women in 2004, although the reasons cannot be derived from the current data.

Welsh also said her research disputes the perception of youths being pro-opposition, as more than half of the voters under 30 have voted for BN in the last two general elections - 52.9 percent in 1999 and 59.5 percent in 2004. However, the size of the electorate also increased.

Welsh - who has written extensively on Asian issues such as attitudes towards democracy and contemporary Malaysian politics - also pointed out that in terms of ethnicity, BN received strong support from Malaysian Indians and Malays.

Almost 60 percent of voters above 30 also supported the ruling coalition, which was returned to power last March with 198 of the 219 parliamentary seats. In the process, BN wrested Terengganu back from PAS, and came close to staging an upset in Kelantan.