1964 Malaysian general election

1964 Malaysian general election
← outgoing members Members elected →
104 (of the 159) seats to the Dewan Rakyat; 53 seats needed for a majority
Registered	2,681,895
Turnout	2,146,608 (78.9%)
Prime Minister before election; Tunku Abdul Rahman; Alliance	Prime Minister-designate ; Tunku Abdul Rahman; Alliance

A general election was held on Saturday, 25 April 1964 for members of the 2nd Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in 104 out of 159 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament.^[1] State elections also took place in 282 state constituencies in 11 (out of 14, except Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore) states of Malaysia on the same day, each electing one Member of the Legislative Assembly to the Dewan Undangan Negeri.

The result was a victory for the Alliance Party, which won 89 of the 104 seats. Voter turnout was 78.9%. The result also contributed towards the eventual expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia. The Singaporean-based People's Action Party decided to run on the mainland, and although it attracted large crowds at its rallies, it won only one seat – that by Devan Nair, who represented the Bungsar constituency (now part of Seputeh and Lembah Pantai constituencies). It is thought by some historians that Finance Minister and MCA President Tan Siew Sin's appeal to the Chinese to avoid challenging the Malay special rights and risk merger with Indonesia helped the MCA retain its status as the "undisputed leader of the Chinese in the Malayan peninsula". Nevertheless, UMNO leaders were furious with the PAP.

It was the first parliamentary general election held after the formation of Malaysia in 1963. State elections were not held in Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Transitional provisions allowed the state legislatures of the three states to choose their parliamentary representatives until the next election. The three states had been allocated a total of 55 seats in the Malaysian Parliament: 15 seats for Singapore, 16 seats for Sabah and 24 seats for Sarawak. Together, the three states held 34% out the 159 seats in the parliament. This was intended to act as a check to prevent parliament from passing constitutional amendments (which require a two-thirds majority) without the agreement of representatives from the three new states. After Singapore left Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak were only left with 25% of the seats, as a consequence Sabah and Sarawak were not able to stop the parliament from approving laws that would encroach on the special rights granted to Sabah and Sarawak upon merger to form Malaysia.

Two Alliance candidates were returned unopposed.

Results

Dewan Rakyat

Template:Malaysian general election, 1964

Results by state

Summary of the 25 April 1964 Malaysian Dewan Rakyat election results by state
Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Perlis) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Kedah) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Kelantan) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Trengganu) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Penang) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Perak) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Pahang) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Selangor) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Negri Sembilan) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Malacca) Template:Malaysian general election, 1964 (Johore)

State Assemblies

References

^ Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann (15 November 2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific : A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. OUP Oxford. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-19-924959-6.

[NohlenGrotz2001-1] Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann (15 November 2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific : A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. OUP Oxford. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-19-924959-6.

[1]

v t e Elections in Malaysia
Federal	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022 Next
State	1954 1955 1959 (Malaya) 1959 (Sarawak) 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 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023
Local	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
See also: Federal by-elections State by-elections Elections in Johor Kedah Kelantan Kuala Lumpur Labuan Malacca Negeri Sembilan Pahang Penang Perak Perlis Putrajaya Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu