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1964 Malaysian general election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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General elections were held in Malaysia on Saturday, 25 April 1964, to elect members of the expanded Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Malaysia. These were the first federal elections since the Malaysia Agreement of 1963, which transformed the Federation of Malaya into Malaysia with the addition of Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah. However, general elections were not held in these new states at the time. Voting took place in 104 of the 159 parliamentary constituencies, each returning one Member of Parliament (MP).[1] State elections were also held on the same day in 282 state constituencies across 11 of Malaysia's 14 states, each electing one Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
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The elections resulted in a victory for the Alliance Party, which secured 89 of the 104 contested seats with a voter turnout of 80 percent. Two Alliance candidates were returned uncontested. The outcome is regarded as one of the factors that contributed to the eventual expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia. The Singapore-based People's Action Party (PAP) had contested seats in the peninsula in response to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) participating in the 1963 Singaporean general election, in breach of a prior agreement not to do so. Although the PAP drew large crowds at its rallies, it only won one seat out of nine contested, with Devan Nair elected at Bangsar.[2] Some historians attribute the results to the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) retaining its position as the "undisputed leader of the Chinese in the Malayan peninsula" to then Minister of Finance and MCA President Tan Siew Sin's appeal to the ethnic Chinese community to refrain from "challenging Malay special rights" and risking closer alignment with Indonesia. Nevertheless, Alliance leaders, particularly within UMNO and the MCA, were angered by the PAP's actions and regarded the party, as well as Lee Kuan Yew's personal appeal among voters, as a threat to their political dominance.
As the first parliamentary general election held after the formation of Malaysia in 1963, no elections took place in Singapore, Sabah or Sarawak. Under transitional provisions, voters of these three states are to select their parliamentary representatives at the next election. Together, the three states were allocated 55 seats – 15 for Singapore, 16 for Sabah and 24 for Sarawak – representing 35 percent of the 159 seats in Parliament. This allocation was intended as a check and balance to prevent the passage of constitutional amendments, which required a two-thirds majority, without the consent of representatives from the new states. However, following Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak together held only 28 percent of parliamentary seats (40 out of 144), reducing their ability to block legislation that eroded the special rights granted to them as equal partners at the formation of Malaysia. The share fell further to 25 percent after the 1974 general election and, despite increases in the total number of seats over the years, has remained nearly constant since.[3]
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Background
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In the lead-up to the election, Malaysia was still grappling with the political implications of its recent formation in September 1963. The merger of Malaya with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak introduced complex federal dynamics and heightened ethnic sensitivities, particularly among Malay nationalists concerned about the demographic impact of Singapore's predominantly Chinese population. These anxieties were intensified by perceptions that the People's Action Party (PAP), led by prime minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, sought to extend its influence into Peninsular Malaysia. United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) leaders, notably prime Minister of Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, viewed this as a direct challenge to Malay political supremacy within the federation.[4]
The political atmosphere was increasingly polarised along communal lines. The ruling Alliance coalition, although formally multiethnic, was dominated by UMNO and reliant on a formula of ethnic power-sharing that prioritised Malay political leadership. In contrast, opposition parties advanced varied critiques of the Alliance's race-based policies, with Islamist groups appealing to conservative Malay-Muslim sentiment, while leftist movements emphasised class-based inequality and opposed what they perceived as the consolidation of elite interests under the Alliance.[5] Tensions were further heightened by the Konfrontasi with Indonesia, which saw President Sukarno opposing the formation of Malaysia as a neo-colonial project. This external threat led the Alliance to campaign on a platform of national unity and anti-communism, portraying dissenting voices as threats to stability. The Internal Security Act (ISA) was used to detain political opponents, curtailing the activities of some left-wing and labour-aligned groups.[6]
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Results
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Registered voters in above table reflects the total number of voters for contested constituencies. Total Electorate including two uncontested constituencies of Muar Selatan and Johore Tenggara is 2763077
By state
Johore
Above registered voter count represent the constituencies that were contested. Total electorate of Johor is 377336 (inclusive of two uncontested seats of Muar Selatan and Johore Tenggara)
Kedah
Kelantan
Malacca
Negri Sembilan
Pahang
Penang
Perak
Perlis
Selangor
Terrengganu
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References
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