1955 Malayan general election

1955 Malayan general election
elected members →
52 of the 98 seats in the Federal Legislative Council ; 27 seats needed for a majority
Registered	1,240,058
Turnout	82.84%
	Results by constituancy
	Elected Chief Minister; Tunku Abdul Rahman ; Alliance

Last updated February 13, 2025

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

State	Nomination Date	State election
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

Settlement	Nomination Date	State election
Penang	13 January 1955	19 February 1955
Malacca	4 August 1955	nil

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 alliance				Votes	%	Seats
	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]

Results by state

Johore


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	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

Notes

↑ Gill, Ranjit (1990). Of Political Bondage. Sterling Corporate Services. p. 40. ISBN 981-00-2136-4.
↑ 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

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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[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.

[1]

[2]

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See also: Federal by-elections State by-elections Elections in Johor Kedah Kelantan Kuala Lumpur Labuan Malacca Negeri Sembilan Pahang Penang Perak Perlis Putrajaya Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu