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. 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, 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 current Prime Minister is Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (fondly known as 'Pak Lah'). He took office following Dr. Mahathir's (now Tun Dr. Mahathir) resignation on the 31st of October 2003. He is seen as a more compromising and affable figure as opposed to Tun Dr. Mahathir's more confrontational and direct style. He has pledged to continue Tun Dr. Mahathir's growth oriented policies, while taking a less belligerent stance on foreign policy than Tun Dr. Mahathir, who has regularly offended Western countries, the USA and Australia in particular.
Country name:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Malaysia
former:
Malayan Union, Federation of Malaya, Federation of Malaysia
Data code: MY
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
Capital: Kuala Lumpur(legislative and commercial), Putrajaya (administrative and soon to be judicial)
Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 3 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - Wilayah Persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur*, Labuan*, Putrajaya*.
Independence: 31 August 1957 (from United Kingdom)
National holiday: National Day, 31 August (1957)
Constitution: 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
Paramount Ruler Sultan TUANKU SYED SIRAJUDDIN Ibni Almarhum Syed Putra Jamalullail (since 21 November 2001); Deputy Paramount Ruler Sultan MIZAN Zainal Abidin ibni A-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah
head of government:
Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (since 31st October 2003), Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak (since 7th January 2004).
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler
elections:
paramount ruler and deputy paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms; election last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister
election results:
Sultan TUANKU SYED SIRAJUDDIN Ibni Almarhum Syed Putra Jamalullail elected paramount ruler; Sultan MIZAN Zainal Abidin ibni A-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah elected deputy paramount ruler
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of nonelected Senate or Dewan Negara (69 seats; 43 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by the state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (193 seats; members elected by popular vote weighted toward the rural Malay population to serve five-year terms)
elections:
House of Representatives - last held 29 November 1999 (next to be held 3 November 2004)
election results:
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NF 56%, other 44%; seats by party - NF 148, PAS 27, DAP 10, NJP 5, PBS 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister
Political parties and leaders:
State Reform Party or STAR [PATAV Rubis]; Democratic Action Party or DAP [LIM Kit Siang]; Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia [LIM Keng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party [leader NA]; Malaysian Chinese Association or MCA [ONG Ka Ting]; Malaysian Indian Congress or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; National Front or NF [MAHATHIR bin Mohamad] (a coalition of 14 political parties, dominated by the UMNO, and including the UPKO, SAPP, and the Liberal Democratic Party); National Justice Party or NJP [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismail]; Parti Akar [Datuk PANDIKAR Amin Mulia]; Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak or PBDS [Datuk Leo MOGGIE]; Parti Bersekutu [HARRIS Salleh]; Parti Islam SeMalaysia or PAS [Ustaz Fadzil Mohamed NOOR (demised)]; Party Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Sabah People's Progressive Party or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sabah People's United Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah) or PBRS [Datuk Joseph KURUP]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Datuk Amar James WONG]; Sarawak United People's Party or SUPP [Datuk Dr. George CHAN Hong Nam]; United Kadazan People's Organization or UPKO (formerly Parti Demokratik Sabah) [Bernard DOMPOK]; United Malays National Organization or UMNO [Abdullah Ahmad BADAWI]; United Sabah Party (main opposition party) (Parti Bersatu Sabah) or PBS [Dr. Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]
note:
subsequent to the election, the following parties were dissolved - Spirit of '46 or Semangat '46 [Tengku Tan Sri RAZALEIGH, president] and Sabah United Party (Parti Bersatu Sabah) or PBS [Datuk Seri Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]
International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Flag description: 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the United States