1955 Malayan general election

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|  | 27 July 1955 | 1959 ->

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Members elected ->

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52 of the 98 seats in the Federal Legislative Council
27 seats needed for a majority
Registered| 1,240,058
Turnout| 82.84%
|  | First party  | Second party

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|

|  |
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%

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Map of winners by constituancy

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|  | Elected Chief Minister

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

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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

[edit]

### Federal Legislative Council

[edit]

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

### State Council

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State | Nomination Date | State election

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Johor | 1 September 1954 | 10 October 1954
Terengganu |  | 29 October 1954
Selangor | 11 August 1955 | 27 September 1955
Kedah | 14 August 1955 | nil
Kelantan | 15 August 1955 | 19 September 1955
Perlis | 17 August 1955 | 24 September 1955
Pahang | 25 August 1955 | 26 September 1955
Negeri Sembilan | 8 September 1955 | 12 October 1955
Perak | 1 October 1955 | 12 November 1955

### Settlement Council

[edit]

Settlement | Nomination Date | State election

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|

Penang | 13 January 1955 | 19 February 1955
Malacca | 4 August 1955 | nil

## Results

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Main article: Results of the 1955 Malayan general election by federal constituency

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 alliance| Votes| %| Seats

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|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 589,933| 58.90| 34
| Malayan Chinese Association| 201,212| 20.09| 15
| Malayan Indian Congress| 26,868| 2.68| 2
Total| 818,013| 81.68| 51
| Parti Negara| 78,909| 7.88| 0
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 40,667| 4.06| 1
| National Association of Perak| 20,996| 2.10| 0
| Perak Malay League| 5,433| 0.54| 0
| Labour Party of Malaya| 4,786| 0.48| 0
| Perak Progressive Party| 1,081| 0.11| 0
| Independents| 31,642| 3.16| 0
Total| 1,001,527| 100.00| 52
Valid votes| 1,001,527| 97.50|
Invalid/blank votes| 25,684| 2.50|
Total votes| 1,027,211| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 1,240,058| 82.84|
Source: The Malayan Elections, Francis G. Carnell.[2][1][2][3]

### Results by state

[edit]

#### Johore

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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|
|

| Malayan Chinese Association| 52,261| 36.98| 3
| United Malays National Organisation| 50,419| 35.67| 4
| Parti Negara| 19,433| 13.75| 0
| Malayan Indian Congress| 18,968| 13.42| 1
| Independents| 253| 0.18| 0
Total| 141,334| 100.00| 8
Registered voters/turnout| 178,114| –|

#### Kedah

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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|
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| United Malays National Organisation| 106,204| 63.89| 4
| Malayan Chinese Association| 48,947| 29.45| 2
| Parti Negara| 6,692| 4.03| 0
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 1,563| 0.94| 0
| Independents| 2,817| 1.69| 0
Total| 166,223| 100.00| 6
Registered voters/turnout| 193,865| –|

#### Kelantan

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Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 130,513| 78.09| 5
| Parti Negara| 20,459| 12.24| 0
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 13,399| 8.02| 0
| Independents| 2,758| 1.65| 0
Total| 167,129| 100.00| 5
Registered voters/turnout| 205,901| –|

#### Malacca

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 26,790| 53.68| 1
| Malayan Chinese Association| 17,104| 34.27| 1
| Parti Negara| 2,821| 5.65| 0
| Independents| 3,194| 6.40| 0
Total| 49,909| 100.00| 2
Registered voters/turnout| 64,708| –|

#### Negri Sembilan

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 33,254| 66.34| 2
| Malayan Chinese Association| 8,402| 16.76| 1
| Parti Negara| 7,968| 15.89| 0
| Independents| 506| 1.01| 0
Total| 50,130| 100.00| 3
Registered voters/turnout| 58,318| –|

#### Pahang

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 46,932| 89.95| 3
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 1,999| 3.83| 0
| Independents| 3,244| 6.22| 0
Total| 52,175| 100.00| 3
Registered voters/turnout| 65,240| –|

#### Penang

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| Malayan Chinese Association| 22,950| 48.48| 1
| United Malays National Organisation| 14,865| 31.40| 4
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 3,523| 7.44| 0
| Labour Party of Malaya| 2,650| 5.60| 0
| Independents| 3,354| 7.08| 0
Total| 47,342| 100.00| 5
Registered voters/turnout| 98,780| –|

#### Perak

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 72,694| 44.58| 5
| Malayan Chinese Association| 34,439| 21.12| 3
| National Association of Perak| 20,996| 12.88| 0
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 13,694| 8.40| 1
| Malayan Indian Congress| 7,900| 4.85| 1
| Perak Malay League| 5,433| 3.33| 0
| Labour Party of Malaya| 1,118| 0.69| 0
| Perak Progressive Party| 1,081| 0.66| 0
| Independents| 5,699| 3.50| 0
Total| 163,054| 100.00| 10
Registered voters/turnout| 206,466| –|

#### Perlis

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 17,769| 66.84| 1
| Independents| 8,814| 33.16| 0
Total| 26,583| 100.00| 1
Registered voters/turnout| 30,936| –|

#### Selangor

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 33,069| 46.92| 4
| Malayan Chinese Association| 17,109| 24.27| 3
| Parti Negara| 11,796| 16.74| 0
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 6,489| 9.21| 0
| Labour Party of Malaya| 1,018| 1.44| 0
| Independents| 1,003| 1.42| 0
Total| 70,484| 100.00| 7
Registered voters/turnout| 85,579| –|

#### Terengganu

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats

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| United Malays National Organisation| 57,424| 84.87| 3
| Parti Negara| 10,240| 15.13| 0
Total| 67,664| 100.00| 3
Registered voters/turnout| 92,948| –|

### State and Settlement Councils

[edit]

Main articles: 1954 Malayan state elections and 1955 Malayan state elections

## Notes

[edit]

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. 28 (4). University of British Columbia: 315–330. doi:10.2307/3035316. ISSN 0030-851X. JSTOR 3035316.

## References

[edit]

* 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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