1959 Malayan general election

A general election was held on Wednesday, 19 August 1959 for members of the first Parliament of the Federation of Malaya,[1] the first parliamentary election in Malaya. It was the third national-wide election held in Malaya since the end of World War II. Malaya later formed Malaysia with three other states in 1963. Voting took place in all 104 parliamentary constituencies of Malaya, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. Voter turnout was 73.3%.

1959 Malayan general election

19 August 1959 (timelines)
All 104 seats to the Dewan Rakyat 53 seats needed for a majority
Registered	2,177,650
Turnout	1,564,575 (73.3%)
SF Leader Tunku Abdul Rahman Burhanuddin al-Helmy Ahmad Boestaman Party Alliance PMIP Socialist Front Leader since 23 August 1951 1956 26 August 1958 Leader's seat Kuala Kedah Besut Setapak Last election 51 seats, 81.7% 1 seat, 4.1% New Party Seats won 74 13 8 Seat change 23 12 Popular vote 800,944 329,070 199,688 Percentage 51.8% 21.3% 12.9% Swing 29.9% 17.2%   PPP MP Leader D. R. Seenivasagam Onn Jaafar Tan Kee Gak Party People's Progressive Party National Party Malayan Party Leader since 10 April 1953 February 1954 1956 Leader's seat Ipoh Kuala Trengganu Selatan Bandar Malacca Last election No seats, 0.1% No seats, 7.9% New Party Seats won 4 1 1 Seat change 4 1 Popular vote 97,391 32,578 13,404 Percentage 6.3% 2.1% 0.9% Swing 6.2% 5.8%
Malayan Parliament composition
Prime Minister before election Abdul Razak Hussein Alliance Prime Minister-designate Tunku Abdul Rahman Alliance

In the election, the Alliance Party – later Barisan Nasional – emerged as the victor. The party was a coalition formed by United Malays National Organisation, Malayan Chinese Association and Malayan Indian Congress. The coalition won 74 out of 104 seats in the Dewan Rakyat with only 51.8% of total votes. The opposition as a whole garnered 30 seats with 48.3% of total votes.

The 71.1% majority allowed Alliance Party to form a government as sanctioned by the Constitution of Malaya.

When results were announced on the morning of 20 August, only 103 seats were returned as elections in the Kedah Tengah (Central Kedah) constituency was delayed until 30 September.[2] The Alliance proceeded to win this seat with Khir Johari as the winning candidate.

Prior to the parliamentary election, state elections took place in all 282 state constituencies in 11 states of Malaya from 20 May to 24 June 1959, each electing one Member of the Legislative Assembly to the Dewan Undangan Negeri.

Three Alliance candidates were returned unopposed.

Timelines

Dewan Rakyat

• Nomination Date : 15 July 1959
• Election day : 19 August 1959

State legislative assemblies

State	Nomination Date	State election
Perlis	15 April 1959	20 May 1959
Kedah	15 April 1959	20 May 1959
Malacca	18 April 1959	23 May 1959
Perak	22 April 1959	27 May 1959
Selangor	25 April 1959	30 May 1959
Negeri Sembilan	28 April 1959	2 June 1959
Penang	2 May 1959	6 June 1959
Johor	6 May 1959	10 June 1959
Pahang	13 May 1959	27 June 1959
Terengganu	16 May 1959	20 June 1959
Kelantan	20 May 1959	24 June 1959

Results

Dewan Rakyat

 Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results

Party				Vote		Seats
				Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1]		Alliance	800,944	51.77	74	71.15	+23
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	553,160	35.75	52	50.00	+18
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	232,073	15.00	19	18.27	+4
		Malayan Indian Congress	MIC	15,711	1.02	3	2.88	+1
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	329,070	21.27	13	12.50	+12
	Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front[lower-alpha 2]		SF	199,688	12.91	8	7.69	New
		Labour Party of Malaya	Lab			6	5.77	+6
		Parti Ra'ayat	Ra'ayat			2	1.92	New
	People's Progressive Party		PPP	97,391	6.29	4	3.85	+4
	National Party		Negara	32,578	2.11	1	0.96	+1
	Malayan Party		MP	13,404	0.87	1	0.96	New
	Independents		IND	74,194	4.80	3	2.88	+3
Valid votes				1,547,269
Invalid/blank votes				17,306
Total (turnout: 73.3%)				1,564,575	100.00	104	100.00	+52
Did not vote				613,075
Registered voters				2,177,650
Source: Nohlen et al.

1. Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.
2. Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.

Results by state

Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results by state

Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Perlis Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 2 17,653 59.63 2 100.00 +1 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 2 17,653 59.63 2 100.00 +1 Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 2 11,950 40.37 0 0.00 New Valid votes 29,603 Invalid/blank votes 223 Total votes (voter turnout: 77.76%) 29,826 100.00 2 100.00 +1 Did not vote 8,529 Registered voters 38,355 Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Perlis's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Kedah Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 12 12 100.00 +6 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 10 10 83.33 +6 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 2 2 16.67 0 Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 10 0 0.00 0 Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front[lower-alpha 2] SF 4 0 0.00 New Labour Party of Malaya Lab 3 0 0.00 New Parti Ra'ayat Ra'ayat 1 0 0.00 New Independents IND 1 0 0.00 0 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 12 100.00 +6 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Kedah's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers. Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Kelantan Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 10 9 90.00 +9 Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 10 1 10.00 -4 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 10 1 10.00 -4 National Party Negara 1 0 0.00 0 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 10 100.00 +5 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Kelantan's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Trengganu Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 4 4 66.67 New Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 6 1 16.67 -2 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 6 1 16.67 -2 National Party Negara 1 1 16.67 +1 Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front[lower-alpha 2] SF 1 0 0.00 New Parti Ra'ayat Ra'ayat 1 0 0.00 New Independents IND 3 0 0.00 New Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 6 100.00 +3 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Trengganu's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers. Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Penang Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 8 5 62.50 +1 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 4 3 37.50 +1 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 4 2 25.00 0 Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front[lower-alpha 2] SF 6 3 37.50 New Labour Party of Malaya Lab 6 3 37.50 +3 Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 5 0 0.00 0 People's Progressive Party PPP 2 0 0.00 New Independents IND 5 0 0.00 0 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 8 100.00 +4 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Penang's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers. Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Perak Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 20 15 75.00 +6 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 9 45.00 +4 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 5 25.00 +2 Malayan Indian Congress MIC 1 5.00 0 People's Progressive Party PPP 4 20.00 +4 Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 0 0.00 -1 Independents IND 1 5.00 +1 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 20 100.00 +10 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Perak's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Pahang Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 6 6 100.00 +3 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 5 5 83.33 +2 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 1 1 16.67 New Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 0 0.00 0 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 6 100.00 +3 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Pahang's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Selangor Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 14 9 64.29 +2 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 5 35.71 +1 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 3 21.43 0 Malayan Indian Congress MIC 1 7.14 New Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front[lower-alpha 2] SF 5 35.71 New Labour Party of Malaya Lab 3 21.43 0 Parti Ra'ayat Ra'ayat 2 14.29 New Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 0 0.00 0 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 14 100.00 +7 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Selangor's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers. Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Negri Sembilan Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 6 4 66.67 +1 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 3 3 50.00 +1 Malayan Indian Congress MIC 1 1 16.67 New Malayan Chinese Association MCA 2 0 0.00 -1 Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 0 0.00 New Independents IND 2 33.33 +2 Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 6 100.00 +3 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Negri Sembilan's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Malacca Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 4 3 75.00 +1 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 2 2 50.00 +1 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 2 1 25.00 0 Malayan Party MP 1 25.00 New Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 0 0.00 New Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 4 100.00 +2 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Malacca's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.  Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results in Johore Party Candidates Vote Seats Votes % Won % +/– Alliance Party[lower-alpha 1] Alliance 16 16 100.00 +8 United Malays National Organisation UMNO 11 11 68.75 +7 Malayan Chinese Association MCA 5 5 31.25 +2 Pan-Malayan Islamic Party PMIP 0 0.00 New Valid votes Invalid/blank votes Total votes (voter turnout: %)   100.00 16 100.00 +8 Did not vote Registered voters   Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)   Johore's population   Source: Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

State Assemblies

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
2. Arkib Negara: Pembentukan Kabinet Yang Pertama Selepas Merdeka (in Malay)

External links

• Documentary video about the 1959 elections Government of Malaysia (in Malay)