Singapore Malay National Organisation is formed

The Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS), or Singapore Malay National Organisation, was originally the Singapore branch of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and had roots in the Singapore Malay Union (Kesatuan Melayu Singapura).^[1] Beginning as an extension of UMNO Johore in the early 1950s, the party contested the 1955 and 1959 Legislative Assembly general elections as part of the Singapore Alliance coalition and won in the Malay-majority constituencies of the Southern Islands, Ulu Bedok, Tanglin, Geylang Serai and Kampong Kembangan.^[2] The party was restructured and officially registered under the Singapore Societies Ordinance on 20 February 1961 as an affiliate of UMNO Malaya with its own constitution.^[3]

Following Singapore’s independence in 1965, the party was officially renamed Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) in 1967 to comply with government regulations that prohibited local parties from affiliating with foreign organisations, which in the case of PKMS was its parent body, UMNO Malaysia.^[4] Despite its promising electoral performance in the 1950s, PKMS has not won a single seat in subsequent general elections held since.

In 2001, PKMS became part of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), an opposition coalition that also included the Singapore People's Party (SPP), the National Solidarity Party (NSP), and the Singapore Justice Party (SJP).^[5]

References
1. Hussin Mutalib. (2004). Parties and politics: A study of opposition parties and the PAP in Singapore (p. 200). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic. Call no.: RSING 324.25957 HUS.
2. S’pore will form UMNO branch. (1951, December 24). The Straits Times, p. 7. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Hussin Mutalib, 2004, pp. 200, 211.
3. New S'pore Umno set-up. (1960, April 21). The Straits Times, p. 5; Singapore Umno begins the big switch. (1960, May 25). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Hussin Mutalib, 2004, pp. 200–202.
4. Singapore Umno rejects two conditions for registration. (1966, October 3). The Straits Times, p. 11; Approved: name and symbol. (1967, May 4). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. G. Sivakkumaran. (2001, June 29). Registry gives opposition alliance go-ahead. The Straits Times, p. 2; Malay-based SNF won't join alliance. (2001, July 27). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.