These seven questions follow the four lessons in historical elections and representation. They use real elections, and each short source is adapted from published figures and written in our own words.
Try each question before opening the answer. Write in full sentences.
Questions
Q1. Source: “On 27 July 1955, 52 of the 98 council seats were elected, and more than 80 per cent of voters supported the Alliance 2.” State who voted and what was decided.
Answer
Voters: voters across the Federation, more than 80 per cent of whom supported the Alliance 2. What was decided: 52 of the 98 seats, so the elected members were a majority of the council, though 46 seats were not elected 1.
Q2. Source: “The Alliance won 51 of the 52 elected seats, and the Alliance fielded 66 candidates against 33 from Parti Negara and 11 from PAS.” What does this show about the choices of voters?
Answer
It shows that most voters chose one coalition, because it won almost every elected seat 2. Other parties stood too 4, so voters had a choice, and only one seat went to a different party.
Q3. Earlier source: “In 1948, all 75 council members were appointed.” Later source: “In 1955, 52 of 98 were elected.” Explain the development in two sentences.
Answer
“In 1948 all 75 members were appointed, but by 1955 voters elected 52 of 98 1. This shows representation widened, because voters now chose many of the people who sat on the council.”
Q4. A student writes: “First the council was appointed. Later there was a bigger council.” Name what is missing.
Answer
It names no change in who chose the members and gives no meaning. Improve it with: “Voters were added as choosers of 52 members, which shows representation widened.”
Q5. Source: “The Alliance won 74 of 104 Dewan Rakyat seats in 1959, which allowed it to form the government.” Show a result-to-change chain.
Answer
Result: the Alliance won 74 of 104 seats 3. Action: it formed the government. Change: the government now rested on a majority in an elected Dewan Rakyat. Conclusion: authority came from a general election in a Parliament, which replaced the earlier council 1.
Q6. A student writes: “The 1955 election made Malaya a perfect democracy.” Why is this weak for the sources above?
Answer
The claim is larger than the evidence. The sources show that 52 of 98 seats were elected 1 and that the Alliance won 51 of them 2. A supported claim says that representation widened, because voters now elected a majority of the council.
Q7. Sort these: (a) “The Alliance won 51 of 52 elected seats.” (b) “It was an unfair result.” (c) “Most voters chose one coalition.” Rewrite (b).
Answer
(a) fact 2, (b) preference, (c) judgement supported by (a). Rewrite of (b): “The opposition won only one of the 52 elected seats.”
If you got these wrong
Q1 and Q2 point to reading historical election information. Q3 and Q4 need explaining how representation developed.
Q5 and Q6 link to linking election outcomes to institutional change. Q7 belongs to separating facts from present-day opinions.
The evidence-to-explanation planner and the mistake log help you repeat and track errors. For teacher support, see online one-to-one Sejarah tuition.