General elections were held in Malaysia between Saturday, 24 August and Saturday, 14 September 1974.^[2] Voting took place in all 154 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 360 state constituencies (except Sabah) on the same day. The elections were the first and only general elections for Tun Abdul Razak as Prime Minister following his appointment to the position in 1970. They were also the first general elections for Barisan Nasional (BN), a new political alliance replacing the Alliance Party; with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (PGRM) and the People's Progressive Party (PPP) joining the parties from the old Alliance.

Quick Facts All 154 seats in the Dewan Rakyat 78 seats needed for a majority, Registered ...

1974 Malaysian general election

← 1969 24 August – 14 September 1974 1978 →
← outgoing members Members elected →
All 154 seats in the Dewan Rakyat 78 seats needed for a majority
Registered	4,017,266[lower-alpha 1]
Turnout	75.00%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Abdul Razak Hussein Lim Kit Siang James Wong Party BN DAP SNAP Last election 82.35%, 121 seats 11.96%, 13 seats 2.70%, 9 seats Seats won 135 9 9 Seat change 14 4 Popular vote 1,287,400 387,845 117,566 Percentage 60.81% 18.32% 5.55% Swing 21.54pp 6.36pp 2.85pp
Results by constituency.
Prime Minister before election Abdul Razak Hussein BN Prime Minister-designate Abdul Razak Hussein BN

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Once Parliament had been dissolved on 31 July 1974, the Election Commission fixed 8 August 1974, as Nomination Day and 24 August 1974, as Polling Day. Candidates were returned unopposed in 47 constituencies. The 1,060,871 electors from these constituencies therefore did not cast ballots. Another 88 Front members were later successful, thus enabling their alliance to gain an overwhelming majority in the House. This result was a victory for Barisan Nasional which won 135 of the 154 seats. 10 additional Parliament seats was created in the Peninsular Malaysia in 1974.

After the election, Sarawak National Party (SNAP) became the largest opposition party in the Malaysian parliament and James Wong was appointed the opposition leader. After 2 months, he was detained under Internal Security Act. Datuk Seri Edmund Langgau Anak Saga from the SNAP party later succeeded him. James Wong was detained for almost two years before negotiation led by Datuk Amar Leo Moggie Anak Irok resulting in SNAP joining the Barisan Nasional.

• 1974 Malaysian state elections