# 1955 Malayan general election

Part of the Independence of Malaya :
Events :
* Early Malay nationalism
* Kesatuan Melayu Muda
* • Defenders of the Homeland
* Japanese occupation of Malaya
* British Military Administration
* Malayan Union
* All-Malaya Council of Joint Action
* Federation of Malaya
* Sungai Siput incident
* Malayan Emergency
* Federal Legislative Council
* Malayan Forum
* Communities Liaison Committee
* Briggs Plan
* Member System
* 1952 local elections
* 1955 General election
* Baling Talks
* Barnes Report
* Razak Report
* Treaty of London
* Reid Commission
* F. of Malaya Independence Act
* Parti Perikatan
* Merdeka Day
* Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement
* Article 160
* UN Security Council Resolution 125
* Peace Agreement of Hat Yai
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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.
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 | Party or alliance | Party or alliance | Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats |
| | Alliance Party | | United Malays National Organisation | 589,933 | 58.90 | 34 |
| | Alliance Party | | Malayan Chinese Association | 201,212 | 20.09 | 15 |
| | Alliance Party | | Malayan Indian Congress | 26,868 | 2.68 | 2 |
| | Alliance Party | Total | Total | 818,013 | 81.68 | 51 |
| | Parti Negara | Parti Negara | Parti Negara | 78,909 | 7.88 | 0 |
| | Pan-Malayan Islamic Party | Pan-Malayan Islamic Party | Pan-Malayan Islamic Party | 40,667 | 4.06 | 1 |
| | National Association of Perak | National Association of Perak | National Association of Perak | 20,996 | 2.10 | 0 |
| | Perak Malay League | Perak Malay League | Perak Malay League | 5,433 | 0.54 | 0 |
| | Labour Party of Malaya | Labour Party of Malaya | Labour Party of Malaya | 4,786 | 0.48 | 0 |
| | Perak Progressive Party | Perak Progressive Party | Perak Progressive Party | 1,081 | 0.11 | 0 |
| | Independents | Independents | Independents | 31,642 | 3.16 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 1,001,527 | 100.00 | 52 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,001,527 | 97.50 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 25,684 | 2.50 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,027,211 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,240,058 | 82.84 | |
| Source: The Malayan Elections, Francis G. Carnell. |||||||

### Results by state
#### Johore

| Party | 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 | Total | 141,334 | 100.00 | 8 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 178,114 | – | |

#### Kedah

| Party | 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 | Total | 166,223 | 100.00 | 6 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 193,865 | – | |

#### Kelantan

| Party | 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 | Total | 167,129 | 100.00 | 5 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 205,901 | – | |

#### Malacca

| Party | 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 | Total | 49,909 | 100.00 | 2 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 64,708 | – | |

#### Negri Sembilan

| Party | 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 | Total | 50,130 | 100.00 | 3 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 58,318 | – | |

#### Pahang

| Party | 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 | Total | 52,175 | 100.00 | 3 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 65,240 | – | |

#### Penang

| Party | 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 | Total | 47,342 | 100.00 | 5 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 98,780 | – | |

#### Perak

| Party | 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 | Total | 163,054 | 100.00 | 10 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 206,466 | – | |

#### Perlis

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats |
| | United Malays National Organisation | 17,769 | 66.84 | 1 |
| | Independents | 8,814 | 33.16 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 26,583 | 100.00 | 1 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 30,936 | – | |

#### Selangor

| Party | 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 | Total | 70,484 | 100.00 | 7 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 85,579 | – | |

#### Terengganu

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats |
| | United Malays National Organisation | 57,424 | 84.87 | 3 |
| | Parti Negara | 10,240 | 15.13 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 67,664 | 100.00 | 3 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 92,948 | – | |