1969 Malaysian general election

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1969 Malaysian general election
Flag of Malaysia.svg
  1964 10 May 1969 – 4 July 1970 1974  

All 144 seats in the Dewan Rakyat
73 seats needed for a majority
Registered3,439,313
Turnout73.53%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Tunku Abdul Rahman and Indira Gandhi (3to4).jpg Burhanuddin al-Helmy.jpg Goh Hock Guan (cropped 4to3 portrait).jpg
Leader Tunku Abdul Rahman Burhanuddin al-Helmy Goh Hock Guan
Party Alliance PAS DAP
Last election58.53%, 89 seats14.64%, 9 seats2.05%, 1 seat
Seats won741213
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 15Increase2.svg 3Increase2.svg 12
Popular vote1,076,507501,123286,606
Percentage44.94%20.92%11.96%
SwingDecrease2.svg13.59ppIncrease2.svg6.28ppIncrease2.svg9.91pp

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  SP Seenivasagam.jpeg SUPP
Leader Syed Hussein Alatas S. P. Seenivasagam Ong Kee Hui
Party Gerakan PPP SUPP
Last election3.40%, 2 seats3 seats
Seats won845
Seat changeNewIncrease2.svg 2Increase2.svg 2
Popular vote178,97180,75672,754
Percentage7.47%3.37%3.04%
SwingNewDecrease2.svg0.04pp

 Seventh partyEighth partyNinth party
  Stephen Kalong Ningkan (cropped 4to3 portrait).jpg Mustapha Harun (cropped 4to3 portrait).jpg Jugah Barieng.jpg
Leader Stephen Kalong Ningkan Mustapha Harun Jugah Barieng
Party SNAP USNO Pesaka
Last election4 seats6 seats
Seats won9132
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 5Increase2.svg 7New
Popular vote64,59313,63430,765
Percentage2.70%0.57%1.28%
SwingNew

Malaysia election results map 1969.svg

Prime Minister before election

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

Prime Minister-designate

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

General elections were held in Malaysia on Saturday, 10 May 1969, although voting was postponed until between 6 June and 4 July 1970 in Sabah and Sarawak. [1] This election marked the first parliamentary election held in Sabah and Sarawak after the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Contents

The elections resulted in the return to power, with a reduced majority, of the ruling Alliance Party, comprising the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the Malayan Chinese Association, and the Malayan Indian Congress. The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which had campaigned against Bumiputra privileges outlined by Article 153 of the Constitution, made major gains in the election. [2] Voter turnout was 73.6%. Opposition won 54 seats in total causing the Alliance to lose its two-thirds majority in the Parliament (two-thirds majority being the majority required to pass most constitutional amendments) for the first time.

The elections also saw Alliance lose its majority in Perak, Selangor and Penang in addition to Kelantan. The result of the election and subsequent reactions would cause widespread race riots also known as the 13 May Incident. As a consequence of this incident, the federal government decided to suspend parliament and government administration was monitored by MAGERAN until 1971. [3] It also marked the end of Tunku Abdul Rahman's administration as Prime Minister before he was succeeded by Tun Abdul Razak several months later. Razak would then seek the main purpose to establish the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. [4]

State elections also took place in 330 state constituencies in 12 (out of 13, except Sabah) states of Malaysia on the same day.

Results

Dewan Rakyat

Candidates were returned unopposed in 19 constituencies. Voting in one constituency was postponed.

West Malaysia went to the polls on 10 May, while Sabah was scheduled to vote on 25 May and Sarawak on 7 June. The Alliance won eight seats on nomination day being unopposed in some constituencies. Tun Mustapha Datu Harun's United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) won 10 out of 16 seats unopposed on nomination day.

The opposition parties' gain at state level was more shocking to the Alliance Party which not only continued to lose to PAS in Kelantan, but also to political infant Gerakan in Penang. No party commanded an absolute majority in two other states. The Alliance held only 14 out of 24 seats in Selangor and 19 out of 40 in Perak. [2]

The attrition of Malay support was much higher than that of the non-Malays. Malay opposition parties' vote shares in the peninsula increased drastically from about 15% in 1964 to 25% in 1969 while the support for non-Malay opposition parties remained roughly the same at 26% in both elections. Thanks to the electoral system, however, PAS seats increased from nine to 12 seats only while non-Malay opposition party, DAP, from 1 to 13.

Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 1,076,50744.9452–7
Malaysian Chinese Association 13–14
Parti Bumiputera Sarawak 5–3
Malaysian Indian Congress 2–1
Sarawak Chinese Association 2–2
Total74–22
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 501,12320.9212+3
Democratic Action Party 286,60611.9613+12
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 178,9717.478New
People's Progressive Party 80,7563.374+2
Sarawak United Peoples' Party 72,7543.045+2
Sarawak National Party 64,5932.709+5
Parti Pesaka Sarawak 30,7651.282New
Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia 27,1101.1300
Sabah Chinese Association 18,3130.763–1
United Sabah National Organisation 13,6340.5713+7
United Malaysian Chinese Organisation1,8080.080New
Independents42,6691.781+1
Total2,395,609100.00144–15
Valid votes2,395,60994.73
Invalid/blank votes133,2535.27
Total votes2,528,862100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,439,31373.53
Source: CLEA

Results by state

Johore

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 110
Malaysian Chinese Association 50
Total160
Democratic Action Party 0New
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 0New
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 0
Independents00
Total160

Kedah

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 7–3
Malaysian Chinese Association 20
Total9–3
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 3+3
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 0New
Total120

Kelantan

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 6–2
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 4+2
Independents00
Total100

Malacca

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 20
Malaysian Chinese Association 1–1
Total3–1
Democratic Action Party 1New
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 00
Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia 0New
Total40

Negri Sembilan

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 30
Malaysian Chinese Association 0–2
Malaysian Indian Congress 0–1
Total00
Democratic Action Party 3New
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 00
Total60

Pahang

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 50
Malaysian Chinese Association 10
Total00
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 00
Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia 00
Total60

Penang

Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 83,67044.555New
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 45,70524.341–3
Malaysian Chinese Association 23,51012.521–1
Total69,21536.8620
Democratic Action Party 20,93011.141New
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 13,2117.0300
People's Progressive Party 7750.4100
Total187,801100.0080

Perak

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 7–2
Malaysian Chinese Association 1–7
Malaysian Indian Congress 10
Total9–9
Democratic Action Party 5New
People's Progressive Party 4+2
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 1+1
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 1New
Independents00
Total200

Perlis

Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 22,19551.1520
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 18,28642.1400
Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia 2,9106.710New
Total43,391100.0020
Valid votes43,39196.46
Invalid/blank votes1,5913.54
Total votes44,982100.00
Registered voters/turnout56,06080.24

Sabah

PartySeats+/–
United Sabah National Organisation 130
Sabah Chinese Association 30
Total160

Sarawak

PartySeats+/–
Sarawak National Party 90
Parti Bumiputera Sarawak 50
Sarawak United Peoples' Party 50
Parti Pesaka Sarawak 20
Sarawak Chinese Association 20
Independents10
Total240

Selangor

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 60
Malaysian Chinese Association 2–3
Malaysian Indian Congress 10
Total9–3
Democratic Action Party 3New
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 2New
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 00
Total140

Trengganu

Party or allianceSeats+/–
Alliance Party United Malays National Organisation 4–1
Pan-Malayan Islamic Party 2+1
Total60

State Assemblies

Aftermath

Gerakan and DAP held a victory rally in Kuala Lumpur on 12 May. The rally soon turned rowdy, as party members and Malay bystanders started to shout racial epithets at each other. [5] UMNO retaliated with its own rally on 13 May, which soon broke out into full-scale rioting. This event subsequently became known as the 13 May Incident. [5]

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN   0-19-924959-8
  2. 1 2 Report on the parliamentary (Dewan Rakyat) and state legislative assembly general elections 1969 of the states of Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak Archived 4 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine Election Commission of Malaysia
  3. "May 13: Why Malaysiakini revisited an old, but persistent, wound". 16 May 2019.
  4. "Kuala Lumpur History Facts and Timeline: Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, Malaysia".
  5. 1 2 Zainon Ahmad (26 July 2007). "The tragedy of May 13, 1969 (part 2)". The Sun. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.