Lee’s Party Prompts Campaign By Tunku

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30390, 14 March 1964, Page 13

Lee’s Party Prompts Campaign By Tunku

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) KUALA LUMPUR, March 13. The Malaysian Premier, Tunku Abdul Rahman, will leave his job on March 27, a month before the Malayan General Elections. He is expected to spent the time in intensive nation-wide campaigning for his Alliance Party. He will resume office if returned.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister, denied a newspaper report that the Tunku was contemplating resigning. The Tunku resigned six months before the last general elections in 1959 and spent the intervening time stumping the country for the Alliance Party. He is expected to have little difficulty in getting back into power in the elections which will be held on April 25. The opposition is divided, and is partly racial or regional in character.

The main interest is the entry into Malayan politics of the multi-racial, moderate Socialist People’s Action Party, which governs Singapore. Political observers believe the Tunku’s decision to go

electioneering js directly connected with the entry into Malaya of the P.A.P. Earlier the P.A.P. leader and the Singapore Premier Mr Lee Kuan Yew, had said his party would not contest the elections. P.A.P. spokesman have said their party does not want

power, but merely aims to keep seats out of the hands of “anti-Malaysia elements.” Opinion is that the P.A.P. is unlikely to hurt greatly the prospects of the Tunku’s own United Malays’ National organisation, but that his allies, the conservative Malasian Chinese Association and the Malayan Indian Congress could suffer. The P.AP. has said it intends making only a “token fighit,” but has yet to state how many seats it will contest. There are 104 Malayan seats in the Malaysian Federal House of Representatives, Sarawak has 24, Sabah 16, and Singapore 15. Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore federal members were appointed from their state legislatures, and will held their seats until Malaysiawide general elections in five years’ time. The Deputy-Premier and Defence Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, will act for the Tunku in his absence.