445. Editorial Note
The first general election conducted in the Federation of Malaya was held on July 27. The election was held to fill the 52 elected seats in the new Federal Legislative Council. Of the 129 candidates who stood for office, 52 represented the Alliance, a grouping composed of the United Malays’ National Organization, the Malayan Chinese Association, and the Malayan Indian Congress. The campaign slogan of the Alliance was “Independence in Four Years”. Alliance leader Tengku Abdul Rahman called for the “Malayanization” of the civil service, the establishment of a general amnesty for Communist terrorists to bring the emergency to an end, and the creation of a special commission to study the question of constitutional reform and independence. Alliance candidates won 51 of the 52 seats in the election, [Page 741] and the Alliance proclaimed the outcome as a mandate to press for independence. An assessment of the election by the Consulate General at Kuala Lumpur is in despatch 36, August 8. (Department of State, Central Files, 797.00/8–855)