United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was the major component party and leader of the governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, and its President presumably will became Prime Minister of Malaysia. In the 1987 UMNO leadership election, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had challenged the incumbent UMNO President and Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, and was widely touted to win the Presidency. However, Mahathir won 761 votes to Razaleigh's 718, and remained President.