Persaingan Politik Melayu di Perak: Tumpuan Terhadap Pengaruh Isu Kempen dan Strategi Calon oleh UMNO, PAS dan Persatuan Kebangsaan Perak pada Pilihan Raya Umum 1955 (Malay Political Competition in Perak: Focus on the Influence of Campaign Issues and Candidate Strategies by UMNO, PAS and National Association Perak in the 1955 General Election)

Abstract

This study discusses the political development of Malaya in the early 1950s by focusing on Malay political competition in Perak in the 1955 General Election. Based on the study conducted, there were three Malay parties competing in Perak politics in the 1955 GE, namely UMNO, PAS and NAP. This competition showed that UMNO succeeded in strengthening its position among Malay votersin Perak through winning five seats with a majority of Malay voters that were won by the party. In addition, the Malay political competition also stole the spotlight when PAS succeeded in winning one seat. This victory of PAS made it the only Malay seat won by a party other than UMNO. Therefore, the results of the 1955 GE became significant for the beginning of Malay political competitionin Perak. This study was written using primary sources from the National Archive, Kew and the National Archives of Malaysia as the main sources of writing. In addition, the writing also used The Straits Times, Utusan Melayu and Warta Malaya newspapers published during that period to obtain continuity with the primary source documents. The findings of this study discuss the main factors that influence Malay political competition in Perak based on the issues that are the focus during the election campaign period. The campaigns carried out by the contesting parties influenced the results obtained by candidates from UMNO, PAS and NAP in the 1955 GE, which in turn became the survival of the parties.