1959 Malayan general election

* * *

| <- 1955 | 19 August 1959 | 1964 ->

|
|

<- outgoing members

elected members ->

* * *

All 104 seats in the Dewan Rakyat
53 seats needed for a majority
Registered| 2,133,272
Turnout| 73.34%
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

|
|
|

|  |  |
Leader  | Tunku Abdul Rahman | Burhanuddin al-Helmy | Ahmad Boestamam
Party  | Alliance | PMIP | Socialist Front
Last election  | 81.68%, 51 seats  | 4.06%, 1 seat  | 0.48%, 0 seats
Seats won  | 74 | 13  | 8
Seat change  |  23  |  12  |  8
Popular vote  | 800,944 | 329,070  | 199,688
Percentage  | 51.77% | 21.27%  | 12.91%
Swing  |  29.91pp  |  17.21pp  |  12.43pp

* * *

| Fourth party  | Fifth party  | Sixth party
|  |  |  MP
Leader  | D. R. Seenivasagam | Onn Jaafar | Tan Kee Gak
Party  | PPP | National Party | Malayan Party
Last election  | 0.11%, 0 seats  | 7.88%, 0 seats  | –
Seats won  | 4  | 1  | 1
Seat change  |  4  |  1  | New
Popular vote  | 97,391  | 32,578  | 13,404
Percentage  | 6.29%  | 2.11%  | 0.87%
Swing  |  6.18pp  |  5.77pp  | New

* * *

Results by constituency

* * *

| Prime Minister before election

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

| Prime Minister-designate

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

|

General elections were held in the Federation of Malaya 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%.

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 52% of the total vote. The opposition as a whole won 30 seats with 48% of the vote.

The 71% 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 to the State Legislative Assembly, the Dewan Undangan Negeri. As a result, PAS took over the administration of Terengganu and Kelantan but served only 2 terms before being retaken by Alliance.

Three Alliance candidates contested unopposed

## Timelines

[edit]

### Dewan Rakyat[3]

[edit]

* Nomination date: 15 July 1959
* Election day: 19 August 1959

### State legislative assemblies

[edit]

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

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–
| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 552,595| 35.71| 52| +18
| Malayan Chinese Association| 229,229| 14.82| 19| +4
| Malayan Indian Congress| 19,120| 1.24| 3| +1
Total| 800,944| 51.77| 74| +23
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 329,070| 21.27| 13| +12
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 146,608| 9.48| 6| +6
| Parti Ra'ayat| 53,080| 3.43| 2| New
Total| 199,688| 12.91| 8| New
| People's Progressive Party| 97,391| 6.29| 4| +4
| Parti Negara| 32,578| 2.11| 1| +1
| Malayan Party| 13,404| 0.87| 1| New
| Independents| 74,194| 4.80| 3| +3
Total| 1,547,269| 100.00| 104| +52
Valid votes| 1,547,269| 98.89|
Invalid/blank votes| 17,306| 1.11|
Total votes| 1,564,575| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 2,133,272| 73.34|
Source: Nohlen et al.

[1] [2][3][4][5]

[4]

Registered voters above refers to total voters of the contested constituencies. Total electorate for the 1959 elections is 2177755 which includes uncontested parliamentary constituencies of Port Dickson, Johore Tenggara and Kemaman.

Information for the division of voters between Labour Party of Malaya and Parti Ra'ayat is limited

### By state[5]

[edit]

Main article: Results of the 1959 Malayan general election by parliamentary constituency

#### Johore

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 98,394| 46.09| 11| +7
| Malayan Chinese Association| 41,825| 19.59| 5| +2
Total| 140,219| 65.68| 16| +2
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 25,810| 12.09| 0| –
| Parti Ra'ayat| 4,501| 2.11| 0| –
Total| 30,311| 14.20| 0| –
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 4,992| 2.34| 0| –
| People's Progressive Party| 2,162| 1.01| 0| –
| Parti Negara| 19,931| 9.34| 0| –
| Independent| 15,878| 7.44| 0| –
Total| 213,493| 100.00| 16| 0
Valid votes| 213,493| 98.83|
Invalid/blank votes| 2,534| 1.17|
Total votes| 216,027| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 280,244| 77.09|
Source: Tindak Malaysia's Github[6]

The registered voters refers to total voters of the contested constituencies.Total electorate of Johor including uncontested constituency of Johore Tenggara is 291230 voters.

#### Kedah

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 105,918| 54.05| 10| +6
| Malayan Chinese Association| 22,047| 11.25| 2| 0
Total| 127,965| 65.31| 12| +6
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 52,235| 26.66| 0| 0
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 7,235| 3.69| 0| New
| Parti Ra'ayat| 6,907| 3.52| 0| New
Total| 14,142| 7.22| 0| New
| Independents| 1,605| 0.82| 0| 0
Total| 195,947| 100.00| 12| +6
Valid votes| 195,947| 98.75|
Invalid/blank votes| 2,481| 1.25|
Total votes| 198,428| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 268,115| 74.01|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[7]

#### Kelantan

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 116,087| 68.38| 9| +9
| United Malays National Organisation| 53,382| 31.45| 1| –4
| Parti Negara| 292| 0.17| 0| –4
Total| 169,761| 100.00| 10| +5
Valid votes| 169,761| 99.16|
Invalid/blank votes| 1,446| 0.84|
Total votes| 171,207| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 240,522| 71.18|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[8]

#### Malacca

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 22,378| 29.97| 2| +1
| Malayan Chinese Association| 21,808| 29.21| 1| 0
Total| 44,186| 59.18| 3| +1
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 12,133| 16.25| 0| –
| Malayan Party| 9,396| 12.58| 1| New
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 5,812| 7.78| 0| –
| Parti Ra'ayat| 2,872| 3.85| 0| –
Total| 8,684| 11.63| 0| –
| Independent| 265| 0.35| 0| –
Total| 74,664| 100.00| 4| +2
Valid votes| 74,664| 99.10|
Invalid/blank votes| 680| 0.90|
Total votes| 75,344| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 93,737| 80.38|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[9]

#### Negeri Sembilan

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 32,164| 44.27| 3| +1
| Malayan Indian Congress| 3,409| 4.69| 1| New
| Malayan Chinese Association| 2,061| 2.84| 0| –1
Total| 37,634| 51.80| 4| +1
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 7,934| 10.92| 0| –
Total| 7,934| 10.92| 0| –
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 12,103| 16.66| 0| New
| Parti Negara| 4,369| 6.01| 0| –
| Independents| 10,607| 14.60| 2| +2
Total| 72,647| 100.00| 6| +3
Valid votes| 72,647| 98.97|
Invalid/blank votes| 756| 1.03|
Total votes| 73,403| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 95,573| 76.80|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[10]

Registered voters shown above refers to the total number of voters of contested constituencies. Actual elctorate size of Negeri Sembilan is 111336 voters which includes uncontesed constituency of Port Dickson.

#### Pahang

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 44,143| 55.95| 5| +2
| Malayan Chinese Association| 8,643| 10.96| 1| New
Total| 52,786| 66.91| 6| +3
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 11,806| 14.96| 0| –
| Parti Ra'ayat| 5,130| 6.50| 0| –
Total| 16,936| 21.47| 0| –
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 9,169| 11.62| 0| 0
Total| 78,891| 100.00| 6| +3
Valid votes| 78,891| 99.01|
Invalid/blank votes| 790| 0.99|
Total votes| 79,681| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 109,535| 72.74|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[11]

#### Penang

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 31,756| 23.22| 3| +1
| Malayan Chinese Association| 28,493| 20.83| 2| 0
Total| 60,249| 44.05| 5| +1
| Labour Party of Malaya| 52,237| 38.19| 3| +3
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 14,829| 10.84| 0| 0
| People's Progressive Party| 3,899| 2.85| 0| New
| Independents| 5,569| 4.07| 0| 0
Total| 136,783| 100.00| 8| +4
Valid votes| 136,783| 99.02|
Invalid/blank votes| 1,358| 0.98|
Total votes| 138,141| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 188,668| 73.22|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[12]

#### Perak

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 77,147| 24.85| 9| +4
| Malayan Chinese Association| 69,592| 22.41| 5| +2
| Malayan Indian Congress| 7,317| 2.36| 1| 0
Total| 154,056| 49.62| 15| +6
| People's Progressive Party| 83,509| 26.90| 4| +1
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 47,757| 15.38| 0| –1
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 1,452| 0.47| 0| –
| Parti Ra'ayat| 7,410| 2.39| 0| –
Total| 8,862| 2.85| 0| –
| Independents| 16,296| 5.25| 1| +1
Total| 310,480| 100.00| 20| +10
Valid votes| 310,480| 98.77|
Invalid/blank votes| 3,881| 1.23|
Total votes| 314,361| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 449,969| 69.86|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[13]

#### Perlis

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| United Malays National Organisation| 17,653| 59.63| 2| +1
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 11,950| 40.37| 0| New
Total| 29,603| 100.00| 2| +1
Valid votes| 29,603| 99.25|
Invalid/blank votes| 223| 0.75|
Total votes| 29,826| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 38,355| 77.76|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[14]

#### Selangor

[edit]

Party or alliance| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Alliance Party| | United Malays National Organisation| 44,423| 22.49| 5| +1
| Malayan Chinese Association| 34,760| 17.59| 3| 0
| Malayan Indian Congress| 8,394| 4.25| 1| New
Total| 87,577| 44.33| 9| +2
| Malayan Peoples'
Socialist Front| | Labour Party of Malaya| 34,322| 17.37| 3| 0
| Parti Ra'ayat| 25,665| 12.99| 2| New
Total| 59,987| 30.36| 5| New
| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 15,691| 7.94| 0| 0
| People's Progressive Party| 7,821| 3.96| 0| 0
| Malayan Party| 4,008| 2.03| 0| 0
| Independent| 22,477| 11.38| 0| 0
Total| 197,561| 100.00| 14| +7
Valid votes| 197,561| 98.87|
Invalid/blank votes| 2,259| 1.13|
Total votes| 199,820| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 271,360| 73.64|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[15]

#### Terengganu

[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

|
|
|
|

| Pan-Malayan Islamic Party| 32,124| 47.63| 4| New
| United Malays National Organisation| 25,237| 37.42| 1| –2
| Parti Negara| 7,986| 11.84| 1| +1
| Parti Ra'ayat| 595| 0.88| 0| New
| Independents| 1,497| 2.22| 0| New
Total| 67,439| 100.00| 6| +3
Valid votes| 67,439| 98.69|
Invalid/blank votes| 898| 1.31|
Total votes| 68,337| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 97,164| 70.33|
Source: Tindak Malaysia Github[16]

The registered voters above refer to total voters of contested constituencies. The total electorate of Trengganu is 114898 which includes uncontested parliamentary constituency of Kemaman

### State Assemblies

[edit]

Main article: 1959 Malayan state elections

## References

[edit]

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[permanent dead link‍] (in Malay)
3. ^ "HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/Malaysia_Federal_Elections_Summary.csv at main · TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS". GitHub. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
4. ^ "ALL THE FEDERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Singapore Free Press. 20 August 1959. p. 9. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
5. ^ "HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv at main · TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS". GitHub. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
6. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
7. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1964-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYSIA_1964_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
8. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
9. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
10. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
11. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
12. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
13. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
14. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
15. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv
16. ^ https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/blob/main/1959-ELECTION-RESULTS/MALAYA_1959_PARLIAMENT_RESULTS.csv

## External links

[edit]

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

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