updated version Barisan Nasional (BN) returned to power in Sarawak amid a notable breakthrough for opposition parties and a swing of votes in Chinese-majority seats.

BN, which only required 36 seats to form a simple majority, won a total of 62 seats while the opposition took eight seats and independent, one.

BN component Supp, headed by Deputy Chief Minister George Chan, saw its worst outing ever in the past 50 years. The party lost eight out of the 19 seats it contested.

As for the opposition, DAP won six seats in Kota Sentosa, Bukit Assek, Batu Lintang, Meradong, Pending and Kidurong. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Snap won in Padungan and Engkilili respectively.

Election Commission (EC) chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman confirmed BN's victory to form the government with a simple majority at 8.35pm.

There were 71 seats up for grabs in the ninth state elections. BN had won two seats - Dalat and Daro - uncontested on nomination day May 9.

Commenting on the opposition's performance, Chief Minister and state BN leader Abdul Taib Mahmud said voters had fell for their 'propaganda'.

"(However,) we accept the result," he told RTM1 in live telecast interview.

Confidence in BN

He said although BN did not make many election promises, the results showed that the people, especially those in rural areas, still had confidence in the coalition.

Prime Minister and national BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was briefed on the victory via telephone by his deputy Najib Abdul Razak at 10.20 pm. The former congratulated Taib and the state BN on returning to power.

Meanwhile, political analysts attributed the opposition's credible performance to the rising anti-government sentiments in the state and Taib's declining popularity.

The said the chief minister, who has been power for more than 25 years, had overstayed his welcome and has been seen as promoting the business interests of his family and cronies.

Sarawak DAP chief Wong Ho Leng stamped his mark when he recaptured the Bukit Assek seat with a whopping 4,751 vote majority. He defeated BN-SUPP candidate Daniel Ngieng.

Another local DAP stalwart Chong Chieng Jen won the Kota Sentosa seat by defeating BN-Supp candidate Alfred Yap Chin Loi.

In the five-cornered fight in Meradong, DAP's youngest candidate, 24-year-old Ting Tze Hui beat another young contender from BN-Supp Wong Zee Yeng and three other independent candidates.

Independent wins Ngemah

In Padungan, PKR's Dominique Ng defeated incumbent BN-SUPP Lily Yong.

In Engkili, Snap candidate Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa defeated BN-SUPP candidate Jonathan Krai Pilo.

Islamic opposition party PAS' sole candidate Alem Din was defeated by BN-PBB candidate Bolhassan Di@Ahmad by a majority of 987 votes.

Independent candidate Gabriel Adit, a former BN politician, managed to retain his Ngemah seat by defeating BN-PRS candidate Alexander Lias and Snap's Richard Lias.

The poll results showed that the opposition had performed well in urban areas, winning the support of Chinese and Dayak voters.

A total of 859,061 electors were eligible to vote in this election, in addition to the 14,642 voters who had cast postal ballots.

However, the voter turnout was described as disappointing by the EC.