Towards the end of 1954, Tunku was invited by the Director of Operations to serve on the Federation War Executive Committee. The government had promised to hold elections to the Federal Legislative Council in 1955, and in March of that year, it was announced that Nomination Day would be in June and that 27 July would be Election Day. Many Malay government officers resigned to offer themselves as candidates. As nomination day approached, Tunku was plagued by demands that a high proportion of the candidates should be Malay.