The 2003 Liga Perdana 1 season is the sixth and final season of Liga Perdana 1. A total of 13 teams participated in the season out of 14 as NS Chempaka FC withdrew from the league.^[1]

The Liga Perdana 1 was introduced in 1998. It replaced the Liga Perdana (1994–97) as the top-tier football league in Malaysia.

The season kicked off on 9 February 2003. Perak again dominated the season and ended up winning the title. Perlis's Phillimon Chepita was the season's top goalscorer with 23 goals.

This season also the last season before the league was succeeded by the formation of Liga Super from 2004 season onwards while Liga Premier was formed to become the new second-tier league in Malaysian football league system. The teams from 2003 season undergoes a qualifying stage to be promoted into inaugural 2004 Malaysia Super League.

Teams

A total of 13 teams will participate in the 2003 Liga Perdana 1 season. NS Chempaka FC pulled out of the league.

• Perak FA (2002 Liga Perdana 1 champions)
• Selangor FA
• Sabah FA
• Penang FA
• Terengganu FA
• Johor FC
• Perlis FA
• Sarawak FA
• Pahang FA
• Kelantan FA
• Malacca FA
• Kedah FA (Promoted as 2002 Liga Perdana 2 champions)
• Melaka Telekom (Promoted as 2002 Liga Perdana 2 runner-up)

Note:

• NS Chempaka FC pulled out of the league.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Perak FA (C)	24	13	8	3	38	22	+16	47	Champion
2	Kedah FA	24	13	6	5	43	17	+26	45
3	Perlis FA	24	13	6	5	40	23	+17	45
4	Sabah FA	24	10	8	6	34	22	+12	38
5	Pahang FA	24	10	6	8	38	33	+5	36
6	Penang FA	24	11	3	10	29	28	+1	36
7	Johor FC (R)	24	10	4	10	42	32	+10	34	Relegated to Liga Premier
8	Sarawak FA	24	9	7	8	47	42	+5	34
9	Melaka Telekom (R)	24	7	11	6	32	34	−2	32	Relegated to Liga Premier
10	Kelantan FA (R)	24	7	7	10	31	52	−21	28
11	Malacca FA (R)	24	5	5	14	24	53	−29	20
12	Selangor FA (R)	24	4	6	14	32	44	−12	18
13	Terengganu FA (R)	24	4	3	17	24	52	−28	15

Note

• Clubs places 1st to 6th will be entering Liga Super automatically.
• Clubs places 7th to 10th will be entering Liga Super playoffs.
• Clubs places 11th to 13th will be relegating to Liga Premier.

2004 Malaysia Super League playoffs

A total of 8 teams will participate in the 2004 Malaysia Super League season playoffs.

• Johor FC (2003 Liga Perdana 1 7th place)
• Sarawak FA (2003 Liga Perdana 1 8th place)
• Melaka Telekom (2003 Liga Perdana 1 9th place)
• Kelantan FA (2003 Liga Perdana 1 10th place)
• Public Bank FC (2003 Liga Perdana 2 champions)
• Negeri Sembilan FA (2003 Liga Perdana 2 runners-up)
• Johor FA (2003 Liga Perdana 2 3rd place)
• MPPJ (2003 Liga Perdana 2 4th place)

Results

First round

First Legs

6 August 2003

20:45

MPPJ	4 – 1	Negeri Sembilan FA
Annuar Abu Bakar 22', 65' Bruno Martelotto 56' Azlan Meri 88'		Efendi Abdul Malek 6'

MPPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya

6 August 2003

20:45

Public Bank FC	3 – 1	Johor FA
Zulkifli Chek Din 12' Shahrilnizam Khalil 64 own goal' Ivan Ziga 67'		Suhaimi Jamil 70'

MPS Stadium, Selayang

6 August 2003

20:15

Sarawak FA	3 – 1	Melaka Telekom
Robert Eshun 23' Sapian Abdul Wahed 65' Wong Sai Kong 74'		Nazzab Hidzan 81 pen'

State Stadium, Petra Jaya, Kuching

6 August 2003

20:45

Johor FC	1 – 0	Kelantan FA
Ivan Zelic 31'

Pasir Gudang Stadium, Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru

Second Legs

9 August 2003

20:45

Negeri Sembilan	4 – 2	MPPJ
Suharmin Yusof 58', 71' K. Sathian 62' K. Rajan 75'		Mohd Haris Safwan Mohd Kamal 38' Annuar Abu Bakar 56'

Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi, Seremban

• MPPJ qualified 6-5 on aggregate.

9 August 2003

20:45

Johor FA	3 – 3	Public Bank FC
P. Gunasekaran 56' Mohd Farid Ideris 73' Ante Jurić 90'		Milan Strelec 36 pen', 50' Ivan Ziga 42'

Tan Sri Dato Hj Hassan Yunos Stadium, Larkin, Johor Bahru

• Public Bank FC qualified 6-4 on aggregate.

9 August 2003

20:45

Melaka Telekom	0 – 1	Sarawak FA
		Sapian Abdul Wahed 23'

Hang Jebat Stadium, Paya Rumput, Malacca

• Sarawak FA qualified 4-1 on aggregate.

9 August 2003

20:45

Kelantan FA	1 – 0	Johor FC
Badrul Afzan Razali 72'

Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium, Kota Bharu

• Johor FC qualified 1-1 on aggregate, 4-2 on penalties.

Final Round

First Legs

13 August 2003

20:45

MPPJ	3 – 2	Sarawak FA
Annuar Abu Bakar 57', 85' Kamarulzaman Yub Majid 68'		Gilbert Cassidy Gawing 60' Ramles Sari 90'

MPPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya

13 August 2003

20:45

Public Bank FC	1 – 2	Johor FC
Ivan Ziga 54'		Hairi Azly Mohamad 48' Jonathan Angelucci 89'

MPS Stadium, Selayang

Second Legs

16 August 2003

20:45

Sarawak FA	3 – 1	MPPJ
Gilbert Cassidy Gawing 16', 44' Sapian Abdul Wahed 120'		Bruno Martelotto 15'

Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi, Seremban

• Sarawak FA qualified 5-4 on aggregate.

16 August 2003

20:45

Johor FC	1 – 2	Public Bank FC
Zami Mohd Noor 87'		Ivan Ziga 64', 79'

Pasir Gudang Stadium, Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru

• Public Bank FC qualified 3-3 on aggregate, 5-4 on penalties.

Note

• Sarawak FA and Public Bank FC qualifies for 2004 Malaysia Super League.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Source: FIFA: Liga Perdana 1 Scorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Phillimon Chepita	Perlis FA	23

Champions

2003 Liga Perdana 1 winner
Perak 2nd title