 | |
| Formation | 16 September 1963; 62 years ago (1963-09-16)[1] |
|---|---|
| Country |  Malaysia |
| Website | www.malaysia.gov.my |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Meeting place | Houses of Parliament |
| Executive branch | |
| Leader | Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim |
| Appointer | Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor |
| Headquarters | Perdana Putra |
| Main organ | Cabinet |
| Judicial branch | |
| Court | Federal Court |
| Seat | Palace of Justice |
TheGovernment of Malaysia, officially theFederal Government of Malaysia (Malay:Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia;Jawi:كراجأن ڤرسكوتوان مليسيا), is based in theFederal Territory ofPutrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located inKuala Lumpur.Malaysia is a federation composed ofthe 11 States of Malaya, the Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak, and 3 Federal Territories operating within aconstitutional monarchy under theWestminster system and is categorised as arepresentative democracy. Thefederal government ofMalaysia adheres to and is created by theFederal Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of the land.
The federal government adopts the principle ofseparation of powers under Article 127 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia,[2] and has three branches: theexecutive,legislature, andjudiciary.[3] Thestate governments in Malaysia also have their respective executive and legislative bodies. The judicial system in Malaysia is a federalised court system operating uniformly throughout the country.
The federal orcentral government is the ultimate authority in Malaysia and located inPutrajaya. It is headed by thePrime Minister of Malaysia as thehead of government.
The bicameral parliament consists of thelower house, the House of Representatives orDewan Rakyat (literally the "Chamber of the People") and theupper house, the Senate orDewan Negara (literally the "Chamber of the Nation").[4][5] All seventySenate members sit for three-year terms (to a maximum of two terms); twenty-six are elected by the thirteen state assemblies, and forty-four are appointed by theYang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) on the advice of the Prime Minister.[6] The 222 members of theDewan Rakyat are elected from single-member districts byuniversal suffrage. The parliament follows amulti-party system and the governing body is elected throughfirst-past-the-post voting.Parliament has a maximum mandate of five years by law. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may dissolve parliament at any time and usually does so upon the advice of the Prime Minister.
While the monarch is thehead of state, real executive power is vested in the Cabinet, led by theprime minister as thehead of government; the Malaysian constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of thelower house ofparliament who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands amajority in parliament.[7] The Cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of Parliament and is responsible to that body.[8]
The Executive branch of the Government of Malaysia consists of thePrime Minister as the head of the government, followed by the various ministers of theCabinet.
The highest court in the judicial system is theFederal Court, followed by theCourt of Appeal, and twoHigh Courts, one forPeninsular Malaysia, and one forEast Malaysia. The subordinate courts in each of these jurisdictions includeSessions Courts,Magistrates' Courts, andCourts for Children. Malaysia also has a Special Court to hear cases brought by or against all Royalty.
TheYang di-Pertuan Agong (lit. 'He Who is Made Lord',[9]Jawi:يڠ دڤرتوان اݢوڠ), also known as the Supreme Head or the King, is theconstitutional monarch andhead of state ofMalaysia. The office was established in 1957, when theFederation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gainedindependence from theUnited Kingdom. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected by theConference of Rulers, comprising the ninerulers of the Malay states, with the officede facto rotated between them, making Malaysia one of the world's fewelective monarchies. In accordance with Article 41 of the Constitution, theYang di-Pertuan Agong is Commander-in-Chief of theMalaysian Armed Forces. As such, he is the highest-ranking officer in themilitary chain of command.
ThePrime Minister of Malaysia (Malay:Perdana Menteri Malaysia) is the indirect head of government (executive) of Malaysia. The prime minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, and is someone who in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's opinion is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat), the elected lower house of Parliament. The prime minister heads theCabinet, whose members are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on the advice of the prime minister. The prime minister and his Cabinet are collectively responsible to Parliament. ThePrime Minister's Department (sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister's Office) is the body and ministry in which the prime minister exercises their functions and powers.
Each state government in Malaysia is created by its respective state constitution. Each state has a unicameralstate legislative chamber (Malay:Dewan Undangan Negeri) whose members are elected from single-memberconstituencies. State executive councils (EXCO) of states of Malaya, theCabinet of Sabah and theCabinet of Sarawak are led byMenteri Besar orChief Ministers in states without hereditary rulers,[6] who are state assembly members from the majority party in the state legislative chamber. They advise their respectivesultans orgovernors. In each of the states with a hereditary ruler, theMenteri Besar is required to be aMalay, appointed by the sultan.
The local government or local authority (Malay:kerajaan tempatan orpihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT)) is the lowest level in the system of government in Malaysia—after federal and state. It has the power to collect taxes (in the form ofassessment tax), to create laws and rules (in the form of by-laws) and to grant licenses and permits for any trade in its area of jurisdiction, in addition to providingbasic amenities, collecting and managing waste and garbage as well as planning and developing the area under its jurisdiction. Local authorities in Malaysia are generally under the exclusive purview of the state governments and headed by a civil servant with the title Yang Di-Pertua (President). Local government areas and the boundaries are usually consistent withdistrict boundaries but there are some places where the boundaries are not consistent and may overlap with adjoining districts especially in urbanised areas.
Unlike the federal and state governments, the local governments in Malaysia are not elected but appointed by the state government after local council elections were suspended by the federal government in 1965.
TheMalaysian Armed Forces are themilitary body of Malaysia while theRoyal Malaysia Police are in charge oflaw enforcement.
The law of Malaysia is mainly based on the common lawlegal system. This was a direct result of the colonisation of Malaya,Sarawak, andNorth Borneo byBritain between the early 19th century to 1960s. The supreme law of the land—the Constitution of Malaysia—sets out the legal framework and rights ofMalaysian citizens. Federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia apply throughout the country. There are also state laws enacted by the State Legislative Assemblies which applies in the particular state. The constitution of Malaysia also provides for a unique dual justice system—the secular laws (criminal and civil) andsharia laws.
Articles 73 to 79 of the Federal Constitution specifies the subject in which the federal and state government may legislate. Parliament has the exclusive power to make laws over matters falling under the Federal List (such as citizenship, defence, internal security, civil and criminal law, finance, trade, commerce and industry, education, labour, and tourism) whereas each state, through its Legislative Assembly, has legislative power over matters under the State List (such as land, local government, sharia law and sharia courts, state holidays and state public works). Parliament and state legislatures share the power to make laws over matters under the Concurrent List (such as water supplies and housing) but Article 75 provides that in the event of conflict, federal law will prevail over state law.
Elections in Malaysia exist at two levels: national level and state level. National level elections are those for membership in theDewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state level elections are for membership in the various State Legislative Assemblies. The head of the executive branch, the prime minister, is appointed from among members of the winning coalition.
| Malaysian Executive Councils | |
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| Federal | |
| State Executive Council | |
| State Cabinet | |
