Politics of Malaysia
"Politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal representative democratic constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments."
Malaysia is a
constitutional monarchy, nominally headed by the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong ("paramount ruler", customarily referred to
as the king. Kings are elected for 5-year terms from among the nine
sultans of the peninsular Malaysian states.
The king also is the leader
of the Islamic faith in Malaysia.
Executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister;
the Malaysian constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a
member of the lower house of parliament who, in the opinion of the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament. The cabinet is
chosen from among members of both houses of parliament and is
responsible to that body.
The bicameral parliament consists of the Senate (Dewan Negara) and the House of
Representatives (Dewan Rakyat). All 69 Senate members sit for 6-year
terms; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, and 43 are appointed
by the king. Representatives of the House are elected from single-member
districts by universal adult suffrage. |
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The King |
The 193 members of the House of Representatives are elected to maximum terms
of 5 years. Legislative power is divided between federal and state
legislatures.
The Malaysian legal system is based on English common law.
The Federal Court reviews decisions referred from the Court of Appeals;
it has original jurisdiction in constitutional matters and
in disputes between states or between the federal government and a state.
Peninsular Malaysia and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak each
have a high court.
The federal government has authority over external affairs, defense,
internal security, justice (except civil law cases among Malays or other
Muslims and other indigenous peoples, adjudicated under Islamic and
traditional law), federal citizenship, finance, commerce, industry,
communications, transportation, and other matters.
Political conditions
Malaysia's predominant political party, the
United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has held power in
coalition with other parties since Malaya's independence in 1957. In
1973, an alliance of communally based parties was replaced with a
broader coalition--the Barisan Nasional--composed of 14 parties. Today the Barisan Nasional
alliance has three prominent members - the UMNO, MCA (Malaysian
Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian
Indian Congress).
In early September 1998, the former Prime Minister
Mahathir bin Mohamad dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibraham
and accused Anwar of immoral and corrupt conduct.Anwar said his ouster
actually owed to political differences and led a series of
demonstrations advocating political reforms. Later in September, Anwar
was arrested, beaten while in prison, and charged with corrupt
practices, i.e., obstruction of justice and
sodomy. In April 1999, he was convicted of four counts of corruption
and sentenced to 6 years in prison. In August 2000, Anwar was convicted
of one count of sodomy and sentenced to 9 years to run consecutively
after his earlier 6-year sentence. Both trials were viewed by domestic
and international observers as unfair. In the November 1999 general
election, the Barisan Nasional was returned to power with three-fourths of the
parliamentary seats, but UMNO's seats dropped from 94 to 72. The
opposition Barisan Alternatif coalition, led by the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), increased its seats to 42. PAS
retained control of the state of
Kelantan and won the additional state of
Terengganu.
The old Prime Minister is Najib Razak (born 23 July 1953)
was the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia. On 3 July 2018, Najib was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission .
The new Prime Minister in 2018 became Mahathir bin Mohamad
again. In 2018 he was 92 years of age.
There was immediate royal pardon for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by the Agong (King).
Dr Mahathir is the oldest leader of a country in the world.
Government type: constitutional monarchy
note: Malaya (what is now
Peninsular Malaysia) formed 31 August 1957; Federation of Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore) formed 9 July 1963 (Singapore left the federation on 9 August 1965); nominally headed by the paramount
ruler and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; Peninsular Malaysian states - hereditary rulers in all but Malacca, Penang, Sabah, and
Sarawak, where governors are appointed by the Malaysian Government; powers of state governments are limited by the federal constitution; under terms of the federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain
constitutional prerogatives (e.g., the right to maintain their own immigration controls); Sabah - holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and
other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak - holds 28 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government
