General elections were held in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
between Saturday, 24 August and Saturday, 14 September 1974.
[Nohlen ''et al''., p152] Voting took place in all 154 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament.
State elections also took place in 360 state constituencies (except
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
) on the same day. The elections were the first and only general elections for
Tun Abdul Razak
Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein ( ms, عبد الرزاق بن حسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia f ...
as Prime Minister following his appointment to the position in 1970. They were also the first general elections for
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
(BN), a new political alliance replacing the
Alliance Party; with the
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamen ...
(PAS),
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia ( en, Malaysian People's Movement Party, commonly abbreviated as GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a liberal political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1968, Gerakan gained prominence in the 1969 general electio ...
(PGRM) and the
People's Progressive Party (PPP) joining the parties from the old Alliance.
Once Parliament had been dissolved on 31 July 1974, the Election Commission fixed 8 August 1974, as Nomination Day and 24 August 1974, as Polling Day. Candidates were returned unopposed in 47 constituencies. The 1,060,871 electors from these constituencies therefore did not cast ballots. Another 88 Front members were later successful, thus enabling their alliance to gain an overwhelming majority in the House. This result was a victory for
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
which won 135 of the 154 seats. 10 additional Parliament seats was created in the Peninsular Malaysia in 1974.
Results
By state
Johore
Kedah
Kelantan
Kuala Lumpur
Malacca
Negri Sembilan
Pahang
Penang
Perak
Perlis
Sabah
Sarawak
Selangor
Trengganu
Aftermath
After the election,
Sarawak National Party
The Sarawak National Party known by its acronym as "SNAP", is now a defunct political party in Malaysia. It was a member party of the Alliance Party from 1963 to 1966 and a member of Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from 1976 until its expulsion ...
(SNAP) became the largest opposition party in the Malaysian parliament and
James Wong was appointed the opposition leader. After 2 months, he was detained under
Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to:
* Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law
*Internal Security Act (Singapore)
* McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law
*Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, rename ...
. Datuk Seri Edmund Langgau Anak Saga from the SNAP party later succeeded him. James Wong was detained for almost two years before negotiation led by Datuk Amar
Leo Moggie Anak Irok resulting in SNAP joining the
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
.
See also
*
1974 Malaysian state elections
Notes
References
{{Malaysian elections
General elections in Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...