Malaysian general election, 1974

Malaysian general election, 1974

24 August - 14 September 1974

All 154 seats to the Dewan Rakyat 78 seats needed for a majority Registered 4,178,914 Turnout 2,220,186 (75.1%)   First party Second party Third party   SNAP Leader Abdul Razak Hussein Lim Kit Siang James Wong Party Barisan Nasional DAP SNAP Leader since 22 September 1970 October 1969 1963 Leader's seat Pekan Kota Melaka No seat Last election 74 seats, 44.3% 13 seats, 12.1% 9 seats, 2.7% Seats won 135 9 9 Seat change 51 4 Popular vote 1,287,400 387,845 117,566 Percentage 60.7% 18.3% 5.6% Swing 16.4% 6.2% 2.9%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   PSRM KITA Leader Tan Chee Khoon Party Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia Parti Keadilan Insan Tanah Air Leader since 1972 Leader's seat Kepong No seat No seat Last election New Party No seats, 1.1% New Party Seats won 1 No seats No seats Seat change Popular vote 105,718 84,206 8,623 Percentage 5.0% 4.0% 0.4%

Prime Minister before election Abdul Razak Hussein Barisan Nasional Prime Minister-designate Abdul Razak Hussein Barisan Nasional

A general election was held between 24 August and 14 September 1974 for members of the 4th Parliament of Malaysia.^[1] 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 in 12 (out of 13, except Sabah) states of Malaysia on the same day.

This result was a victory for Barisan Nasional (formerly the Alliance Party), which won 135 of the 154 seats. Voter turnout was 75.1%.

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. (In Malaysia, the election campaign must last a minimum of two weeks.)

This was the first general election since the Alliance Party was replaced by the Barisan Nasional in 1973. It was also the only election when the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) participated as part of Barisan Nasional, which also marked the first time since independence the federal ruling party obtained a majority in the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly, forming the state government in Kelantan.

The Prime Minister was among the 47 National Front candidates to Parliament who were returned unopposed on Nomination Day. Another 88 Front members were later successful, thus enabling their alliance to gain an overwhelming majority in the House. Altogether over 50 Opposition candidates lost their deposits.

Results

Parliamentary results

Political Party				Votes	% of vote	Seats	% of seats	+/–
	National Front		BN	1,287,400	60.7	135	87.7	+51
		United Malays National Organisation	UMNO			62	40.3	+10
		Malaysian Chinese Association	MCA			19	12.3	+6
		Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party	PAS			13	8.4	+1
		Malaysian People's Movement Party	Gerakan			5	3.2	–3
		Malaysian Indian Congress	MIC			4	2.6	+2
		People's Progressive Party	PPP			1	0.6	–3
		Sabah Chinese Association	SCA
		Sarawak Chinese Association	SCA
		Sarawak United People's Party	SUPP
		United Traditional Bumiputera Party	PBB					New
		United Sabah National Organisation	USNO
	Democratic Action Party		DAP	387,845	18.3	9	5.8	–4
	Sarawak National Party		SNAP	117,566	5.6	9	5.8	0
	Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia		PEKEMAS	105,718	5.0	1	0.6	New
	Malaysian Socialist People's Party		PSRM	84,206	4.0	0	0.0	New
	Homeland Consciousness Union		KITA	8,623	0.4	0	0.0	New
	Independent People's Progressive Party		IPPP	1,356	0.1	0	0.0	New
	Independents		IND	124,202	5.9	0	0.0	–1
Valid votes				2,119,917
Invalid/blank votes				100,269
Total (turnout: 75.1%)				2,220,186	100.0	154	100.0	+10
Did not vote				1,958,728
Registered voters				4,178,914
Voting age population (aged 21 years and above)				5,625,000
Malaysian population				11,700,000
Source: Nohlen et al., IPU ,, Candidates were returned unopposed in 47 constituencies. The 1,060,871 electors from these constituencies therefore did not cast ballots.

Opposition

After the election, Sarawak National Party (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. 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.

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN 0-19-924959-8