Malayan general election, 1959

19 August 1959 (timelines)

All 104 seats to the Dewan Rakyat 53 seats needed for a majority

Registered	2,177,650
Turnout	1,564,575 (73.3%)
	First party	Second party	Third party
			SF
Leader	Tunku Abdul Rahman	Burhanuddin al-Helmy	Ahmad Boestaman
Party	Alliance	PMIP	Socialist Front
Leader since	23 August 1951 (1951-08-23)	1956 (1956)	26 August 1958
Leader's seat	Kuala Kedah	Besut	Setapak
Last election	51 seats, 81.7%	1 seat, 4.1%	New Party
Seats won	74	13	8
Seat change	23	12
Popular vote	800,944	329,070	199,688
Percentage	51.8%	21.3%	12.9%
Swing	29.9%	17.2%

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party
	PPP		MP
Leader	D. R. Seenivasagam	Onn Jaafar	Tan Kee Gak
Party	People's Progressive Party	National Party	Malayan Party
Leader since	10 April 1953	10 May 1946	1956
Leader's seat	Ipoh	Kuala Trengganu Selatan	Bandar Malacca
Last election	No seats, 0.1%	No seats, 7.9%	New Party
Seats won	4	1	1
Seat change	4	1
Popular vote	97,391	32,578	13,404
Percentage	6.3%	2.1%	0.9%
Swing	6.2%	5.8%

Prime Minister before election

Abdul Razak Hussein
Alliance

Prime Minister-designate

Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alliance

A general election was held 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 73.3%.

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 51.8% of total votes. The opposition as a whole garnered 30 seats with 48.3% of total votes.

The 71.1% 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 of the Legislative Assembly to the Dewan Undangan Negeri.

Three Alliance candidates were returned unopposed.

Timelines

Dewan Rakyat

Nomination Date : 15 July 1959
Election day : 19 August 1959

State legislative assemblies

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

Dewan Rakyat

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

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results**
Party				Vote		Seats
Party				Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	800,944	51.77	74	71.15	+23
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	553,160	35.75	52	50.00	+18
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	232,073	15.00	19	18.27	+4
		Malayan Indian Congress	MIC	15,711	1.02	3	2.88	+1
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	329,070	21.27	13	12.50	+12
	Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front^{[lower-alpha 2]}		SF	199,688	12.91	8	7.69	New
		Labour Party of Malaya	Lab			6	5.77	+6
		Parti Ra'ayat	Ra'ayat			2	1.92	New
	People's Progressive Party		PPP	97,391	6.29	4	3.85	+4
	National Party		Negara	32,578	2.11	1	0.96	+1
	Malayan Party		MP	13,404	0.87	1	0.96	New
	Independents		IND	74,194	4.80	3	2.88	+3
Valid votes				1,547,269
Invalid/blank votes				17,306
Total (turnout: 73.3%)				1,564,575	100.00	104	100.00	+52
Did not vote				613,075
Registered voters				2,177,650
Source: Nohlen et al.

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.
↑ Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.

Results by state

Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan Dewan Rakyat election results by state

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Perlis**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	2	17,653	59.63	2	100.00	+1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	2	17,653	59.63	2	100.00	+1
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	2	11,950	40.37	0	0.00	New
Valid votes					29,603
Invalid/blank votes					223
Total votes (voter turnout: 77.76%)					29,826	100.00	2	100.00	+1
Did not vote					8,529
Registered voters					38,355
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Perlis's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Kedah**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	12			12	100.00	+6
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	10			10	83.33	+6
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	2			2	16.67	0
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	10			0	0.00	0
	Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front^{[lower-alpha 2]}		SF	4			0	0.00	New
		Labour Party of Malaya	Lab	3			0	0.00	New
		Parti Ra'ayat	Ra'ayat	1			0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND	1			0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	12	100.00	+6
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Kedah's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.
↑ Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Kelantan**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	10			9	90.00	+9
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	10			1	10.00	-4
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	10			1	10.00	-4
	National Party		Negara	1			0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	10	100.00	+5
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Kelantan's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Trengganu**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	4			4	66.67	New
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	6			1	16.67	-2
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	6			1	16.67	-2
	National Party		Negara	1			1	16.67	+1
	Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front^{[lower-alpha 2]}		SF	1			0	0.00	New
		Parti Ra'ayat	Ra'ayat	1			0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND	3			0	0.00	New
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	6	100.00	+3
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Trengganu's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.
↑ Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Penang**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	8			5	62.50	+1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	4			3	37.50	+1
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	4			2	25.00	0
	Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front^{[lower-alpha 2]}		SF	6			3	37.50	New
		Labour Party of Malaya	Lab	6			3	37.50	+3
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP	5			0	0.00	0
	People's Progressive Party		PPP	2			0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND	5			0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	8	100.00	+4
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Penang's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.
↑ Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Perak**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	20			15	75.00	+6
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO				9	45.00	+4
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA				5	25.00	+2
		Malayan Indian Congress	MIC				1	5.00	0
	People's Progressive Party		PPP				4	20.00	+4
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP				0	0.00	-1
	Independents		IND				1	5.00	+1
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	20	100.00	+10
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Perak's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Pahang**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	6			6	100.00	+3
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	5			5	83.33	+2
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	1			1	16.67	New
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	6	100.00	+3
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Pahang's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Selangor**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	14			9	64.29	+2
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO				5	35.71	+1
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA				3	21.43	0
		Malayan Indian Congress	MIC				1	7.14	New
	Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front^{[lower-alpha 2]}		SF				5	35.71	New
		Labour Party of Malaya	Lab				3	21.43	0
		Parti Ra'ayat	Ra'ayat				2	14.29	New
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP				0	0.00	0
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	14	100.00	+7
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Selangor's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.
↑ Contested using kepala lembu, cangkul, pen, rantai election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Negri Sembilan**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	6			4	66.67	+1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	3			3	50.00	+1
		Malayan Indian Congress	MIC	1			1	16.67	New
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	2			0	0.00	-1
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP				0	0.00	New
	Independents		IND				2	33.33	+2
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	6	100.00	+3
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Negri Sembilan's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Malacca**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	4			3	75.00	+1
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	2			2	50.00	+1
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	2			1	25.00	0
	Malayan Party		MP				1	25.00	New
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP				0	0.00	New
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	4	100.00	+2
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Malacca's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

**Summary of the 19 August 1959 Malayan *Dewan Rakyat* election results in Johore**
Party				Candidates	Vote		Seats
Party				Candidates	Votes	%	Won	%	+/–
	Alliance Party^{[lower-alpha 1]}		Alliance	16			16	100.00	+8
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO	11			11	68.75	+7
		Malayan Chinese Association	MCA	5			5	31.25	+2
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party		PMIP				0	0.00	New
Valid votes
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes (voter turnout: %)					'	100.00	16	100.00	+8
Did not vote
Registered voters					'
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)					'
Johore's population					'
Source:

↑ Contested using kapal layar election symbol on the ballot papers.

State Assemblies

Main article: Malayan state elections, 1959

References

↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
↑ Arkib Negara: Pembentukan Kabinet Yang Pertama Selepas Merdeka (in Malay)

External links

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

Elections in Malaysia

General elections	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 next by-elections

State elections	1954 1955 1959 1963 1964 1967 1969 1971 1974 1976 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1990 1991 1994 1995 1996 1999 2001 2004 2006 2008 2011 2013 2016 by-elections

Local elections	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965

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

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