1969 Malaysian general election

General elections were held in Malaysia on Saturday, 10 May 1969, although polling in Sabah and Sarawak was postponed until between 6 June and 4 July 1970. This was the first parliamentary election in Sabah and Sarawak since the formation of Malaysia in 1963. The ruling Alliance Party, consisting of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), retained power but with a reduced majority. The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), both of which campaigned against the Bumiputra privileges set out in Article 153 of the Constitution which they considered to be a form of institutional racism, made significant gains. Voter turnout was 73.6 percent. The opposition collectively won 54 seats, causing the Alliance to lose its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time, a threshold required to pass most constitutional amendments.

The election also saw the Alliance lose control of the state governments in Perak, Selangor, Penang and Kelantan. The result and its aftermath triggered widespread racial violence in Kuala Lumpur on 13 May 1969, which saw hundreds of deaths, known as the 13 May incident. In response, the federal government declared a state of emergency and suspended parliament, placing the country under the administration of the National Operations Council (NOC) until 1971. The incident left deep political and social scars and marked a turning point in Malaysian politics.

The crisis also signalled the end of Tunku Abdul Rahman's more moderate premiership. He was succeeded several months later by Tun Abdul Razak, who pursued a more hard-line agenda and sought to further entrench Malay special rights under the Ketuanan Melayu ideology. Razak's government introduced policies to restructure society in favour of the Malays and sought to consolidate federal control. Among his initiatives was the launch of the New Economic Policy (NEP), an affirmative action program, and the creation of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, which was separated from Selangor in 1974. State elections also took place in 330 state constituencies in 12 (out of 13, except Sabah) states of Malaysia on the same day.