1955 Malayan general election

27 July 1955

52 of the 98 seats in the Federal Legislative Council
27 seats needed for a majority
Registered1,240,058
Turnout82.84%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Tunku Abdul Rahman Abbas Alias
Party UMNO PMIP
Alliance Alliance
Seats won 51 1
Popular vote 818,013 40,667
Percentage 81.68% 4.06%

Map of winners by constituancy

Elected Chief Minister

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

General elections were held in the Federation of Malaya on Wednesday, 27 July 1955, the only general election before independence in 1957. They were held to elect members of the Federal Legislative Council, whose members had previously been fully appointed by the British High Commissioner. Voting took place in all 52 federal constituencies, each electing one member. State elections also took place in all 136 state constituencies in nine states of Malaya and two settlements from 10 October 1954 to 12 November 1955, each electing one councillor to the State Council or Settlement Council.

The Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP) was formed primarily to contest in the 1955 elections. Previously the PMIP had been known as the "Pan-Malayan Islamic Association", as a part of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). PMIP won support by proclaiming its aim of making Islam the base of the Malay society in the north of Malay Peninsula, which was facing the lowest economic growth in Malaya.

The elections resulted in a decisive win for the Alliance Party, an alliance of the UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), and a resounding defeat for Parti Negara, led by former UMNO president Onn Jaafar. Onn himself failed to win a seat, while the Alliance proceeded to form the new government, with its leader Tunku Abdul Rahman becoming Chief Minister.[1]

Thirty Alliance candidates had majorities of over 10,000 votes. Nine of them had majorities of over 20,000. Forty-three of their opponents lost their deposits.

Timelines

Federal Legislative Council

  • Nomination Date : 15 June 1955
  • Election day : 27 July 1955

State Council

StateNomination DateState election
 Johor1 September 195410 October 1954
 Terengganu29 October 1954
 Selangor11 August 195527 September 1955
 Kedah14 August 1955nil
 Kelantan15 August 195519 September 1955
 Perlis17 August 195524 September 1955
 Pahang25 August 195526 September 1955
 Negeri Sembilan8 September 195512 October 1955
 Perak1 October 195512 November 1955

Settlement Council

SettlementNomination DateState election
 Penang13 January 195519 February 1955
 Malacca4 August 1955nil

Results

The Alliance Party won around 80% of the total vote and 51 out of 52 seats contested. PMIP won their only seat in Krian, Perak. Its sole winning candidate, Haji Ahmad Tuan Hussein, an Islamic scholar, was subsequently nicknamed "Mr. Opposition". Voter turnout was 82.8%.

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Alliance PartyUnited Malays National Organisation589,93358.9034
Malayan Chinese Association201,21220.0915
Malayan Indian Congress26,8682.682
Total818,01381.6851
Parti Negara78,9097.880
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party40,6674.061
National Association of Perak20,9962.100
Perak Malay League5,4330.540
Labour Party of Malaya4,7860.480
Perak Progressive Party1,0810.110
Independents31,6423.160
Total1,001,527100.0052
Valid votes1,001,52797.50
Invalid/blank votes25,6842.50
Total votes1,027,211100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,240,05882.84
Source: The Malayan Elections, Francis G. Carnell.[2]

Results by state

Johore

PartyVotes%Seats
Malayan Chinese Association52,26136.983
United Malays National Organisation50,41935.674
Parti Negara19,43313.750
Malayan Indian Congress18,96813.421
Independents2530.180
Total141,334100.008
Registered voters/turnout178,114

Kedah

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation106,20463.894
Malayan Chinese Association48,94729.452
Parti Negara6,6924.030
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party1,5630.940
Independents2,8171.690
Total166,223100.006
Registered voters/turnout193,865

Kelantan

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation130,51378.095
Parti Negara20,45912.240
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party13,3998.020
Independents2,7581.650
Total167,129100.005
Registered voters/turnout205,901

Malacca

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation26,79053.681
Malayan Chinese Association17,10434.271
Parti Negara2,8215.650
Independents3,1946.400
Total49,909100.002
Registered voters/turnout64,708

Negri Sembilan

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation33,25466.342
Malayan Chinese Association8,40216.761
Parti Negara7,96815.890
Independents5061.010
Total50,130100.003
Registered voters/turnout58,318

Pahang

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation46,93289.953
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party1,9993.830
Independents3,2446.220
Total52,175100.003
Registered voters/turnout65,240

Penang

PartyVotes%Seats
Malayan Chinese Association22,95048.481
United Malays National Organisation14,86531.404
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party3,5237.440
Labour Party of Malaya2,6505.600
Independents3,3547.080
Total47,342100.005
Registered voters/turnout98,780

Perak

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation72,69444.585
Malayan Chinese Association34,43921.123
National Association of Perak20,99612.880
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party13,6948.401
Malayan Indian Congress7,9004.851
Perak Malay League5,4333.330
Labour Party of Malaya1,1180.690
Perak Progressive Party1,0810.660
Independents5,6993.500
Total163,054100.0010
Registered voters/turnout206,466

Perlis

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation17,76966.841
Independents8,81433.160
Total26,583100.001
Registered voters/turnout30,936

Selangor

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation33,06946.924
Malayan Chinese Association17,10924.273
Parti Negara11,79616.740
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party6,4899.210
Labour Party of Malaya1,0181.440
Independents1,0031.420
Total70,484100.007
Registered voters/turnout85,579

Terengganu

PartyVotes%Seats
United Malays National Organisation57,42484.873
Parti Negara10,24015.130
Total67,664100.003
Registered voters/turnout92,948

State and Settlement Councils

Notes

  1. Gill, Ranjit (1990). Of Political Bondage. Sterling Corporate Services. p. 40. ISBN 981-00-2136-4.
  2. Carnell, Francis G. (December 1955). "The Malayan Elections". Pacific Affairs. University of British Columbia. 28 (4): 315–330. doi:10.2307/3035316. ISSN 0030-851X. JSTOR 3035316.

References

  • Barbara Watson Andaya dan Leonard Y. Andaya. A History of Malaysia, The MacMlllan Press Ltd. (1982). ISBN 0-333-27673-6.
  • The World Book Encyclopedia, World Book International (1994). ISBN 0-7166-6694-4.
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