However, while the BN knew that the 2008 elections posed a
real challenge to its authority, the extent of the ruling coalition's
losses took many observers by surprise. The final results were
approximately double the predicted swing of less than 15 per cent, or
30 to 40 parliamentary seats. The BN coalition won just 140 of the
222 parliamentary seats on offer and only 51.2 per cent of the valid
popular vote.^^ All of the main component parties of the BN suffered.
In fact, the BN majority in parliament hinged upon its support in
Sabah and Sarawak where it won 55 of the 57 parliamentary seats
on offer. In contrast, all of the opposition parties posted remarkable
gains with the PKR increasing its presence in parliament from a
solitary seat in 2004 to 31 seats in 2008, PAS