FIRST GENERAL ELECTIONS FEDERATION IN MALAYA

General Elections Federation of Malaya 1955

Author: Nureen, Aiman, Iman, Aleeya, Syakir & Afifah

This is the picture from the first election in Tanah Melayu 1955

    The first federal elections in the Federation of Malaya were held on July 27, 1955, with 52 seats up for grabs. The Alliance Party (Parti Perikatan), which is made up of UMNO, MCA, and MIC, is running in this election. For each constituency, the Alliance Party is counting on 52 candidates. Meanwhile, under Datuk Onn's leadership, Parti Negara has filed a total of 33 candidates. Compatriots Malay Islamic Party (PAS) came in second with 11 candidates.

    The Labor Party (Parti Buruh), Progress Party Silver (Parti Kemajuan Perak), National Organization, and Organization of Perak Malay (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Perak) are among the political parties running in the elections. The Alliance Party has won 51 of the 52 seats up for grabs. PAS has secured yet another seat. Following the Alliance Party's ability to establish a government with Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Alliance Party's leader has been appointed as the Federation of Malaya's Chief Minister.

    Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, the leader of the National Alliance Party, created the Federation of Malaya's first cabinet on August 1, 1955. The attitude of cooperation and friendliness among Alliance Party members was at the heart of the success that led to the country's independence on August 31, 1957.

Newspaper front page reporting Alliance victory (TST, 28 July 1955)

Confidence expressed by Dato 'Onn Jaafar (Parti Negara) and Tengku Abdul Rahman (Alliance). (TST, July 27, 1955)

1955 Election results published in The Straits Times, 29 July 1955.

The sole victory of the PMIP (later known as PAS) in the Krian constituency, through their candidate, Haji Ahmad Tuan Hussain (Source: TST, 29 July 1955)

Controversial Issues:

1. Employees are not allowed to vote.

    The prevailing disagreement over the company's employees Malayan Railway was one of the more interesting and contentious issues that arose during the 1955 elections (Malayan Railways). The workers were denied permission to vote by the management, prompting the workers' representatives to file a complaint with the Alliance party's headquarters. After issuing instructions to management to offer special leave to vote, the instructions were followed, and the employees were given two hours of leave to go out and complete their voting responsibilities.

2. The destinies of Onn Jaafar and Eisenhower were very different.

The National Party's leader, Dato Onn Jaafar, has voiced his wish to follow in the footsteps of US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and sleep while the ballots are counted. He also joked that he would have the same triumph as Eisenhower, but that did not happen, as Dato Onn lost with a relatively significant majority in the Johor Bahru area.

3. Bangi is experiencing heavy rain.

Meanwhile, torrential rains hit in Bangi, trapping many voters who were unable to reach the voting booth. An unusual occurrence occurred when the alliance party that provided transportation to voters offered their services to a group of voters, but their offer was turned down since they were National Party supporters. (TST, 28 July 1955)

4. Vote-getting strategies

The Alliance party's triumph in the state, according to Parti Negara Negeri Sembilan, was due to the party's use of beautiful women to garner votes. (TST, 29 July 1955).

 5. The reporter for the Straits Times was sacked.

In the 1955 election, The Straits Times reporters were forced by a party official to leave the premises of the UMNO Party, which was contesting under the Alliance coalition. They were also described as opponents of the Alliance. The dispute died down after an Alliance figure, Datuk Suleiman Abdul Rahman, apologized on behalf of his buddy and indicated that the obstruction imposed on The Straits Times reporter was the result of an individual's judgement, not the party's position. (TST, July 28, 1955)

Dato Onn Jaafar's severe defeat as reported in The Straits Times dated 28 July 1955

Defeat of Dato Onn Ja'afar in Johor Bahru (TST, 29 July 1955)

REFERENCES

PeKhabar. (2018, April 25). Pilihanraya Persekutuan Yang Pertama. PeKhabar. https://pekhabar.com/h-i-d-s-pilihanraya-persekutuan-yang-pertama/.

Legislature: Meaning, Functions and Types of Legislature. Your Article Library. (2014, May 17). https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/constitution/legislature-meaning-functions-and-types-of-legislature/40337.

Sidek, H. F. (2013, May 7). Sekilas Kenangan: Pilihanraya Umum Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 1955. Kitab Tawarikh 2.0 Sekilas Kenangan: Pilihanraya Umum Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 1955. http://harithsidek.blogspot.com/2013/05/sekilas-kenangan-pilihanraya-umum.html.