Malay Union | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 新加坡马来人联合会 |
| Malay name | Kesatuan Melayu Singapura |
| Tamil name | மலாய் ஐக்கியம் |
| President | Mohammad Eunos Abdullah [1] |
| Founder | Ishak bin Ahmad |
| Founded | 14 May 1926 |
| Succeeded by | Singapore Alliance |
The Malay Union (Malay : Kesatuan Melayu) (abbreviation: KMS), was a political party in Singapore from 1926 to 1960.
KMS was established on 14 May 1926 as a religious and cultural organisation for the Malay community. [2] [3] KMS's leaders were for the most part, English-educated professionals, and persons of social standing in the Malay community. [4] Ishak bin Ahmad was one of its founding members. [3] KMS wanted to promote the rights and interests of the Malays, and was known for establishing the Jalan Eunos Malay Settlement or Kampong Melayu in 1929. [5] [6]
In 1954, KMS, together with Singapore Labour Party and Singapore Socialist Party allied and formed the Labour Front (LF). [7] When a decision was made to merge into a single party, KMS withdrew, and joined another alliance with two Malayan political parties, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) (whose Singaporean branch had been founded by the leaders of the KMS) and the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA). [2]
In the 1955 general election, KMS nominated a single candidate, [2] Inche Sidik, to contest the Southern Islands constituency. He was elected with 50.6% of the votes. [8] KMS also fielded a candidate in the 1957 by-election for Cairnhill, receiving 17% of the vote. However, KMS had previously agreed with the other alliance members not to field a candidate, and was subsequently expelled from the alliance for doing so. [2]
After trying but failing to form an alliance with Pan-Malayan Islamic Party and Parti Rakyat, KMS contested the 1959 general elections alone. [2] By this time the party was led by Muda Muhamed Mahmud, as Sidik had left to join UMNO. [9] It nominated three candidates, but received only 0.5% vote share, failing to win a seat.
After the Societies Ordinance came into force in 1960, KMS failed to re-register. [2]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | Position | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contested | Total | +/– | ||||||||
| Seats | Won | Lost | ||||||||
| 1955 | Inche Sidik | 1,233 | 0.79% | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 / 25 |  2 | 8th | Opposition |
| 1959 | Muda Muhamed Mahmud | 2,819 | 0.54% | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 / 51 |  2 | 9th | No seats |
| Election | Leader | Constituency contested | Votes | % | Seats | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contested | Total | +/– | |||||||
| Won | Lost | ||||||||
| 1957 | Inche Sidik | Cairnhill | 983 | 16.9% | 0 | 1 | 0 / 1 |  | Lost |
Parenthesis indicate seats represented in the Parliament of Singapore | |||||
| Active |
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| Defunct |
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| Dissolved | |||||
Notes: † The party has yet to contest in an election. | |||||
