1959 Malayan general election
General elections were held in the Federation of Malaya on Wednesday, 19 August 1959 for members of the first Parliament of the Federation of Malaya, the first parliamentary election in Malaya. It was the third national-wide election held in Malaya since the end of World War II. Malaya later formed Malaysia with three other states in 1963. Voting took place in all 104 parliamentary constituencies of Malaya, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. Voter turnout was 73%.
Image: Aankomst Prins Abdoel Rahman op Ypenburg, Bestanddeelnr 911 8186 (cropped 3to 4)
Image: Burhanuddin al Helmy
Image: Onn Jaafar (cropped 4to 3 portrait)
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah was a Malaysian statesman and lawyer who served as the first prime minister of Malaysia and the head of government of its predecessor states from 1955 to 1970. He was the first chief minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 to 1957. He supervised the independence process that culminated on 31 August 1957. As an independent Malaysia's first prime minister, he dominated the country's politics for the next 13 years.
Tunku in 1960
Tunku in 1947
Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming Malayan independence on 31 August 1957
Tunku Abdul Rahman during a state visit to The Netherlands (May 1960)