Parliament of Malaysia

Parliament of Malaysia Parlimen Malaysia
PKR since 19 December 2022
Prime Minister	Anwar Ibrahim, PH–PKR since 24 November 2022
Leader of the Opposition	Hamzah Zainudin, PN–(BERSATU since 19 December 2022
Structure
Seats	Dewan Negara: 70 Dewan Rakyat: 222
Dewan Negara political groups	As of 18 March 2024[update] Government (53)   BN (23)   UMNO (17)   MIC (3)   MCA (3)   PH (15)   PKR (8)   DAP (4)   AMANAH (3)   GPS (6)   PBB (4)   PRS (1)   PDP (1)   GRS (2)   GAGASAN (2)   PCS (1)    Independent (6) Opposition (10)   PN (10)   PAS (6)   BERSATU (2)   GERAKAN (2) Vacant (7)
Dewan Rakyat political groups	As of 24 November 2022[update] Government (147)   PH (81)   DAP (40)   PKR (31)   AMANAH (8)   UPKO (2)   BN (30)   UMNO (26)   MCA (2)   MIC (1)   PBRS (1)   GPS (23)   PBB (14)   PRS (5)   PDP (2)   SUPP (2)   GRS (6)   Direct members (4)   PBS (1)   STAR (1)    WARISAN (3)   KDM (2)    PBM (1 )   Independent (1) Confidence and supply (6)   PN (6)   BERSATU (6) Opposition (69)   PN (68)   PAS (43)   BERSATU (25)    1)
Dewan Negara committees	4 Committee of Selection House Committee Committee of Privileges Standing Orders Committee
Dewan Rakyat committees	5 Committee of Selection Public Accounts Committee House Committee Committee of Privileges Standing Orders Committee
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last Dewan Rakyat election	19 November 2022
Next Dewan Rakyat election	By 17 February 2027
Meeting place
Malaysian Houses of Parliament, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Website
www.parlimen.gov.my

The Parliament of Malaysia (

The Parliament assembles in the Malaysian Houses of Parliament, located in the national capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

The term "Member of Parliament (MP)" usually refers to a member of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament. The term "Senator" usually refers to a member of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Parliament.

History

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Malaysia
Head of State Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim Iskandar Conference of Rulers
Legislature Parliament of Malaysia 15th Parliament Senate (Dewan Negara) President Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) Speaker Johari Abdul Leader of the Government Anwar Ibrahim Leader of the Opposition Hamzah Zainudin
Executive Cabinet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Civil service (agencies) Mohd. Zuki Ali
Judiciary Federal Court Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat Court of Appeal President Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim High Court in Malaya ∙ High Court in Sabah and Sarawak Chief Judge of Malaya Mohamad Zabidin Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli
Elections Election Commission of Malaysia General elections: 2022 Electoral districts
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Colonial and the Federation of Malaya

Historically, none of the states forming the Federation of Malaysia had parliaments before independence, save for

Parliament first sat at the former headquarters building of the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force on a hill near Jalan Tun Ismail (Maxwell Road). The Dewan Negara met in a hall on the ground floor while the Dewan Rakyat met in the hall on the first floor.[1] With the completion of Parliament House in 1962, comprising a three-storey main building for the two houses of Parliament to meet, and an 18-storey tower for the offices of Ministers and members of Parliament, both houses moved there.

Malaysia

In 1963, when Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore merged to form Malaysia, the Malayan Parliament was adopted for use as the Parliament of Malaysia. Both Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara were expanded to include representatives from the new states. When Singapore seceded from Malaysia in 1965, it ceased to be represented in the Parliament of Malaysia.

Significant change regarding the composition of Dewan Negara occurred during this period. Under the 1957 Constitution of Malaya, senators elected by the state assemblies were in the majority, totalling 22 members with 2 for each state, while there were only 16 appointed members. The 1963 Constitution of Malaysia retains the provision that each state sends two senators, but subsequent amendments gradually increased the number of appointed members to 40 (plus another 4 appointed for representing the federal territories), leaving state-elected members in the minority and effectively diminishing the states' representation in Dewan Negara.^[2]

Parliament has been suspended only once in the history of Malaysia, in the aftermath of the

Since 2013, parliamentary debates are broadcast live on state television TV1.[5]

Composition and powers

As the ultimate legislative body in Malaysia, the Parliament is responsible for passing, amending and repealing acts of law. It is subordinate to the Head of State, the

The executive government, comprising the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, is drawn from the members of Parliament and is responsible to the Parliament. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government but constitutionally subordinant to His Majesty, from the Dewan Rakyat. In practice, the Prime Minister shall be the one who commands the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat. The Prime Minister then submits a list containing the names of members of his Cabinet, who will then be appointed as Ministers by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Members of the Cabinet must also be members of Parliament, usually from the Dewan Rakyat. The Cabinet formulates government policy and drafts bills, meeting in private. The members must accept "collective responsibility" for the decisions the Cabinet makes, even if some members disagree with it; if they do not wish to be held responsible for Cabinet decisions, they must resign. Although the Constitution makes no provision for it, there is also a Deputy Prime Minister, who is the de facto successor of the Prime Minister should he die, resign or be otherwise incapacitated.^[6]

If the Prime Minister loses the confidence of the Dewan Rakyat, whether by losing a

After the general elections in 2008, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, leader of the People's Justice Party and wife of former deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim became the leader of the opposition. She is the first female in Malaysian history to have held this position.[10] Wan Azizah is described as the "brains" behind the coalition of her own party, the 'leftist' Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the religion based Pan Malaysian Islamic Party.^[11]

Procedure

Parliament meets from Monday to Thursday when it is in session, as Friday is part of the weekend in the states of Johor, Kelantan, Kedah, and Terengganu.^[12] However, the lower house (Dewan Rakyat) also meets on Friday for a day (usually on September to November) during the federal budget presentation.

A proposed act of law begins its life when a particular government minister or ministry prepares a first draft with the assistance of the Attorney-General's Department. The draft, known as a bill, is then discussed by the Cabinet. If it is agreed to be submitted to Parliament, the bill is distributed to all MPs. It then goes through three readings before the Dewan Rakyat. The first reading is where the minister or his deputy submits it to Parliament. At the second reading, the bill is discussed and debated by MPs. Until the mid-1970s, both English and Malay (the national language) were used for debates, but henceforth, only Malay was permitted, unless permission was obtained from the Speaker of the House. At the third reading, the minister or his deputy formally submit it to a vote for approval. A 2/3 majority is usually required to pass the bill, but in certain cases, a simple majority suffices. Should the bill pass, it is sent to the Dewan Negara, where the three readings are carried out again. The Dewan Negara may choose not to pass the bill, but this only delays its passage by a month, or in some cases, a year; once this period expires, the bill is considered to have been passed by the house.^[12][13]

If the bill passes, it is presented to the

The government attempts to maintain top secrecy regarding bills debated; MPs generally receive copies of bills only a few days before they are debated, and newspapers are rarely provided with copies of the bills before they are debated. In some cases, such as a 1968 amendment to the Constitution, an MP may be presented with a bill to be debated on the same day it is tabled, and all three readings may be carried out that day itself.[15] In rare circumstances, the government may release a White paper containing particular proposals that will eventually be incorporated into a bill; this has been done for legislation such as the Universities and University Colleges Act.^[16]

Although the process above assumes only the government can propose bills, there also exists a process for

It is often alleged that legislation proposed by the opposition parties, which must naturally be in the form of a Private Member's Bill, is not seriously considered by Parliament. Some have gone as far as to claim that the rights of members of Parliament to debate proposed bills have been severely curtailed by incidents such as an amendment of the Standing Orders that permitted the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat to amend written copies of MPs' speeches before they were made. Nevertheless, some of these critics also suggest that "Government officials often face sharp questioning in Parliament, although this is not always reported in detail in the press."^[9]

Most motions are typically approved or rejected by a

In June 2008, two MPs announced they would be supporting a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister, another first in the history of Parliament. The procedure surrounding a vote of no confidence is not entirely clear; as of 18 June 2008 it appeared there was no provision in the Standing Orders for whether a simple majority or a 2/3 supermajority would be necessary to pass a vote of no confidence^[21]

Relationship with the government

In theory, based on the

There have been only six Select Committees formed since 1970, when Parliament reconvened after the

Democratic Action Party (DAP) calculated that over the space of three days (from 10 to 13 October 2005), only 32 questions were answered orally. Of these 32 questions, only nine or 28% percent were answered by the Ministers concerned. The rest were answered either by Deputy Ministers (41%) or Parliamentary Secretaries (31%).^[22][29] After the 2008 general election, Abdullah reshuffled his Cabinet, eliminating Parliamentary Secretaries, which The Sun greeted as a move "forcing ministers and deputy ministers to answer questions in Parliament".^[30]

Time is allocated for discussion of the annual

vote of no-confidence, forcing the government out of office. The government will then either have to reform itself with a new cabinet and possibly new Prime Minister, or call for a general election. As a result, Shad states that "MPs may criticize, they may have their say but the government will have its way" when it comes to the budget.^[22]

With the

unconstitutional. However, this has never occurred. Parliament is not involved in the process of judicial appointments.^[31]

Department of Parliament controversy

In early October 2005, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of parliamentary affairs,

Nazri Aziz, announced the formation of a Department of Parliament to oversee its day-to-day running. The leader of the Opposition, Lim Kit Siang, immediately announced a "Save Parliament" campaign to "ensure that Parliament does not become a victim in the second most serious assault on the doctrine of separation of powers in the 48-year history of the nation".^[32]

Nazri soon backed down, saying he had meant an office (although he stated jabatan, which means department; pejabat is the Malay word for office) and not Department (Jabatan) of Parliament. The New Straits Times, a newspaper owned by the United Malays National Organisation (a key member of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition) wrote in an editorial that "ministerial authority was established over Parliament the building" and not Parliament the institution and that "[i]f the new 'department' and its management and staff do their jobs well, the rakyat (people) would have even more of a right to expect their MPs to do theirs by turning up for Dewan sessions, preserving that quaint tradition of the quorum, on behalf of their constituencies."^[33]

Lim was dissatisfied with such a response and went ahead with a "Save Parliament" roundtable attended by several MPs (including Nazri) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Although Lim thanked Nazri (the only Barisan Nasional MP in attendance), he stated that the proposed department remained a threat to Parliament's independence, and had to be "seen in the context of the relentless erosion and diminution of parliamentary powers and functions by the Executive". In a statement, the roundtable found that "Nazri's explanations were not convincing" and urged "Nazri to halt all implementation of the Cabinet decision to establish a Department or Office of Parliament until MPs and the civil society could approve and support the proposal".^[34]

On 13 October in the Dewan Rakyat,

Zahir Ismail) in 1992. Ahmad Shabery demanded to know if the government would make the status of parliament as an independent institution clear, and stated that "Aside from nice flooring, chairs and walls, we don't even have a library that can make us proud, no in-house outlet selling copies of different Acts that are passed in Parliament itself and no proper information centre."^[35]

Nazri responded that the motion would have to be referred to the House Committee for review.

Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club, then insisted that the Act be immediately restored without being referred to the Committee, and called on all MPs who supported the motion to stand. Several immediately stood, with some Opposition MPs shouting "bangun, bangun" (stand up, stand up). Following Shahrir's lead, a majority of the BN MPs also stood, including some frontbenchers. However, several ministers, including Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar (who had supported repealing the Act in 1992) remained seated. Nazri then stated that the matter would remain with the Committee, as he did not want it dealt with in a slipshod manner.^[35]

The following day, Lim called on Kamaruddin Mohd Baria, who would have taken the post of Parliament Head of Administration, not to report for duty in his new post. Meanwhile, the Dewan Negara House Committee held a specially-convened meeting, which called on the government to revive the Act and to call off all moves to change the administrative structure of Parliament. The President of the Dewan Negara, Abdul Hamid Pawanteh, also stated that he had not been informed "at all" by the government regarding the new department or office of Parliament. Later the same day, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad stated that the government had agreed to revive the Act.^[36]

However, on 17 October, Nazri refused to budge on the issue of the new post of "Parliament Head of Administration" (which would make the current Parliamentary Secretary, who is accountable to Parliament and not the executive, redundant). He also stated that the

Parliamentary Services Act would have to go through the Dewan Rakyat House Committee and endorsed by the Dewan Rakyat before being sent to the cabinet for approval. In his blog, Lim slammed Nazri for overlooking "the fact that when the Parliamentary Privilege Act was repealed in 1992, it was not at the recommendation of the Dewan Rakyat House Committee but merely at the unilateral request of the Speaker."^[37]

Dewan Negara

Main article: Dewan Negara

See also: Members of the Dewan Negara, 15th Malaysian Parliament

The Dewan Negara (

federal territories

. The term of office is 3 years and senators may only be re-appointed once, consecutively or non-consecutively.

The Dewan Negara usually reviews legislation that has been passed by the lower house, the

King for royal assent. However, if the Dewan Negara rejects a bill, it can only delay the bill's passage by a maximum of a year before it is sent to the King. Like the Dewan Rakyat, the Dewan Negara meets at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur

.

Dewan Rakyat

Main article: Dewan Rakyat

See also: Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 15th Malaysian Parliament

The Dewan Rakyat (Malay for House of Representatives, literally People's Hall) is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 222 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected during elections from federal constituencies drawn by the Election Commission. The term of office is at most 5 years and MPs may be re-elected indefinitely. However, an elected MP cannot concurrently serve as a senator.

The eligibility for appointment as minister or deputy minister is when they are elected as MP or appointed as senator. Therefore, a senator who is appointed as minister (or deputy minister) shall be seated in the Dewan Rakyat to answer parliamentary question. Nevertheless, they are not involved in the parliamentary voting session.

The Dewan Rakyat usually proposes legislation through a draft known as a 'bill'. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) and the

King for royal assent. However, if the Dewan Negara rejects a bill, it can only delay the bill's passage by a maximum of a year before it is sent to the King. Like the Dewan Negara, the Dewan Rakyat meets at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur

.

References

1. ^ Interview on 28 March 2011 with retired JKR engineer, Yoon Shee Leng, who built Parliament House.
2. ^ Funston, John (2001). "Malaysia: Developmental State Challenged". In John Funston (Ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, pp. 180, 183. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
3. Straits Times
   .
4. ^ Malaysia "not mature" enough for parliament broadcasts: minister. Malaysia Today.
5. ^ "Official Portal of The Parliament of Malaysia -". www.parlimen.gov.my. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
6. ^ ^{a b} "Branches of Government in Malaysia" Archived 7 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 February 2006.
7. ISBN 0-19-588988-6
   .
8. ^ Myytenaere, Robert (1998). "The Immunities of Members of Parliament" Archived 25 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 February 2006.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Malaysia". Retrieved 22 January 2006.
10. ^ Malaysia Has A Female Opposition Leader For The First Time In History Archived 23 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. AHN, 28 April 2008
11. ^ Malaysia's new lawmakers take oath of office to join Parliament after historic polls. International Herald tribune. 28 April 2008
12. ^ ^{a b} Lim, Kit Siang (2004). "Master English campaign – one day a week in Parliament for free use of English". Retrieved 15 February 2006.
13. ISBN 983-74-2024-3
    .
14. ^ Shuid & Yunus, p. 34.
15. ISBN 967-908-051-X
    .
16. ^ Tan & Vasil, p. 11.
17. ^ Ram, B. Suresh (16 December 2005). "Pro-people, passionate politician" Archived 27 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine. The Sun.
18. ^ Lim, Kit Siang (1997). "Consensus Against Corruption". Retrieved 11 February 2006.
19. LCCN
    771294.
20. ^ "Bill approved by block voting for first time". The Malaysian Insider. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
21. ^ Beh, Lih Yi (18 June 2008). "No-confidence vote: No way, Sapp!". Malaysiakini. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
22. ^ ^{a b c d} Ahmad, Zainon & Phang, Llew-Ann (1 October 2005). The all-powerful executive. The Sun.
23. ^ Funston, p. 180.
24. ^ Mohammad, Mahathir bin. The Malay Dilemma, p. 11.
25. ^ "Conclusion". In John Funston (Ed.) Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, p. 415.
26. ^ Yap, Mun Ching (21 December 2006). A sorry state of Parliament Archived 22 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The Sun.
27. ^ Megan, M.K. & Andres, Leslie (9 May 2006). "Abdullah: Vote along party lines", p. 4. New Straits Times.
28. ^ Ahmad, Zainon (29 December 2006). World-class Parliament still a dream Archived 22 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The Sun.
29. ^ Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "The day Dr. Mahathir was 'taken for a ride' by Rafidah". Retrieved 15 October 2005.
30. ^ Yusop, Husna; Llew-Ann Phang (18 March 2008). "Leaner govt, Cabinet surprises". The Sun. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
31. ^ Funston, p. 183.
32. ^ Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "'Save Parliament' campaign". Retrieved 12 October 2005.
33. ^ "Order in the House". (12 October 2005). New Straits Times, p. 18.
34. ^ Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Minister for 'First-World' Parliament – not Minister for Parliament toilets and canteen". Retrieved 12 October 2005.
35. ^ ^{a b} "Resounding aye to power separation". (14 October 2005). New Straits Times, p. 8.
36. ^ Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Skies brighten for Parliament after a week of dark clouds". Retrieved 14 October 2005.
37. ^ Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Sorry I was wrong, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel". Retrieved 17 October 2005.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parliament of Malaysia.

• Official website (in Malay)