General elections were held in West Malaysia on 25 April 1964.[1] 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 Bangsar constituency. 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.
By end of 1964, parliamentary general election was not held in Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. The three states have been allocated a total of 55 seats in the Malaysia Parliament. 15 seats to Singapore, 16 seats for Sabah and 24 seats for Sarawak. Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak held 34% out the 159 seats in the parliament. After Singapore left Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are only left with 25% of the seats, in effect Sabah and Sarawak are not able to stop the parliament from approving laws that will encroach on the special rights granted to Sabah and Sarawak upon merger to form Malaysia.
