The results of the latest general election must have come as deep disappointment to most - to BN, to Pakatan Rakyat, to their respective supporters and to the voting public.

But perhaps it was the best result under the circumstances - and what everyone deserved.

The 13th general election broke significant records and there are a number of portends for the future which the two main coalitions and the public at large ignore at their own peril.

Most important of these in the short term is the question of who would be prime minister - incumbent Najib Abdul Razak or, in the light of poorer results by BN, his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

On that would depend the direction and future of the economy. We have looked at this in some detail in our pre-election coverage here and here.

It was of course, the worst showing ever for BN.

On top of that, BN for the first time rules with less than 50 percent support of the voters and Pakatan has, for the first time ever, gained majority of the support of the voters, thus reflecting its best ever performance.

Malaysiakini 's initial calculations show that Pakatan obtained some 50.6 percent of the popular vote while BN got around 48.6 percent, the remaining 0.8 percent going to others.

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