The coalition was formed on
Hari Merdeka by two multi-racial parties – the
Partai Rakyat (PRM) which had a Malay leftist leadership and the Labour Party of Malaya, which was largely supported by Malaya's Chinese minority. The first chairman was
Ahmad Boestamam, the PRM president. In the
1959 General Elections, the Socialist Front (SF) managed to gain 8 seats in Selangor, Johor, and Penang constituencies. It won 34.6% of the popular vote cast in the constituencies. Six seats were won by the Labour Party, which were
Dato' Kramat (
Lim Kean Siew),
Seberang Selatan (
Veerappen Veerathan),
Tanjong (
Tan Phock Kin),
Bangsar (
V. David),
Batu (Ng Ann Teck) and
Rawang (Liu Yoong Peng). Two more were won by Parti Rakyat in
Setapak (
Ahmad Boestamam) and
Damansara (
Karam Singh Veriah). The SF successfully garnered 13% of the votes, thus becoming the third-largest party in Parliament after the Alliance and the
Pan Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP). The Socialist Front managed to gain 13 out of 14 seats in George Town, Penang during the 1961 Local Elections.
Ahmad Boestamam resigned as SF chairman in 1961 to concentrate on leading PRM. In 1963, shortly after the events of the
Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, the government took action against several opposition politicians and activists. SF was seen as pro-Indonesia and pro-China, causing the Socialist Front leader's arrest. Among those detained and arrested were
Ahmad Boestamam (
PRM president),
Ishak Haji Muhammad (
PBM president),
Abdul Aziz Ishak (
NCP president) and Datuk
Kampo Radjo (later to become president of the PRM),
Tan Kai Hee,
Tan Phock Kin, Dr.
M.K. Rajakumar,
Hasnul Abdul Hadi,
Tajuddin Kahar,
Kamarulzaman Teh and hundreds of others. Rallies and mass demonstrations were held on 13 February 1965 in
Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the second anniversary of the detention of Ahmad Boestamam and others to oppose the mass arrests of activists and leaders of the SF under the
Internal Security Act (ISA) and the alleged involvement in "subversive" activities. In the
1964 General Elections, the Socialist Front lost 6 seats and managed to retain 2 seats. PRM and the NCP failed to gain any seats at all while the Labour Party lost a significant number of seats. Cancellation of local government elections in 1965 after the declaration of Emergency in 1964 because of continued confrontation with Indonesia, weakened the impact of SF. Dispute between the two parties resulted in
PRM leaving the coalition in December 1965, and NCP soon become inactive. The Labour Party, the only party in SF that held seats, abandoned it on 10 January 1966 and reverted to its own banner. == Aftermath ==