General elections were held in Malaysia on 10 May 1969, although voting was postponed until between 21 and 27 June in Sabah and Sarawak.[1] It resulted in the return to power, with a reduced majority, of the ruling Alliance Party, comprising the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the Malayan Chinese Association, and the Malayan Indian Congress. The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which had campaigned against Bumiputra privileges outlined by Article 153 of the Constitution, made major gains in the election.[2] Voter turnout was 73.6%.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Party | 1,063,238 | 44.8 | 77 | -12 |
| Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party | 495,641 | 20.9 | 12 | +3 |
| Democratic Action Party, previously People's Action Party | 286,606 | 12.1 | 13 | +12 |
| Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia | 178,971 | 7.5 | 8 | New |
| People's Progressive Party | 80,756 | 3.4 | 1 | +2 |
| Sarawak United People's Party | 71,293 | 3.0 | 5 | New |
| Sarawak National Party | 64,593 | 2.7 | 9 | New |
| United Sabah National Organisation | 31,947 | 1.3 | 13 | New |
| Parti Pesaka Sarawak | 30,765 | 1.3 | 2 | New |
| Parti Rakyat | 25,785 | 1.1 | 0 | New |
| United Malaysian Chinese Organisation | 1,808 | 0.1 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 41,710 | 1.8 | 1 | +1 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 134,230 | - | - | - |
| Total | 2,532,042 | 100 | 140 | +40 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||
The opposition parties’ gain at state level was more shocking to the Alliance Party which not only continued to lose to PAS in Kelantan, but also to political infant Gerakan in Penang. No party commanded an absolute majority in two other states. The Alliance held only 14 out of 24 seats in Selangor and 19 out of 40 in Perak.[2]
Very interestingly, the attrition of Malay support was much higher than that of the non-Malays. Malay opposition parties’ vote shares in the peninsula increased drastically from about 15% in 1964 to 25% in 1969 while the support for non-Malay opposition parties remained roughly the same at 26% in both elections. Thanks to the electoral system, however, PAS seats increased from nine to 12 seats only while the non-Malay opposition parties from eight to 25.
Gerakan and DAP held a victory rally in Kuala Lumpur on 12 May, but the rally turned rowdy, with party members shouting racial epithets at Malay bystanders.[3] UMNO retaliated with its own rally on 13 May, which soon broke out into full-scale rioting, which subsequently became known as the May 13 Incident.[3]
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