Politics
in Malaysia
Malaysia
is a constitutional monarchy with the Supreme Head of
State of Malaysia, His Majesty, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. As the constitutional monarch, he holds office for five years after his election by the
conference of Rulers. His advisors are the Prime Minister, who exercises
executive power, and the Cabinet.
The
National Front (Barisan Nasional), the is main political party in
Malaysia. It is multiracial and consists of 14 parties, with the largest
being the United Malays National Organization.
The
House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) consists of 192 members and is
the legislative authority of Malaysia. Representatives are elected by
popular vote for terms of five years. The highest court in Malaysia is the
Federal Court, with two High Courts directly underneath it. One High Court
serves East Malaysia with the other serving West Malaysia.
Country
name:
|
conventional
long form: none
conventional
short form: Malaysia
local
long form: none
local
short form: Malaysia
former:
Federation
of Malaya
|
|
Government
type:
|
constitutional
monarchy
note:
nominally
headed by paramount ruler (commonly referred to as
the King) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of
a nonelected upper house and an elected lower
house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have
hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as
sultans) except Melaka and Pulau Pinang (Penang);
those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in
East Malaysia have governors appointed by
government; powers of state governments are
limited by federal constitution; under terms of
federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain
constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to
maintain their own immigration controls)
|
|
Capital:
|
name: Kuala
Lumpur
geographic
coordinates: 3
10 N, 101 42 E
time
difference: UTC+8
(13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
note:
Putrajaya
is referred to as administrative center not
capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur
|
|
Administrative
divisions:
|
13
states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) Johor,
Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang,
Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak,
Selangor, and Terengganu; and 1 federal territory
(Wilayah Persekutuan) with three components, city
of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya
|
|
Independence:
|
31
August 1957 (from the UK)
|
|
National
holiday:
|
Independence
Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)
|
|
Constitution:
|
31
August 1957; amended many times the latest in 2007
|
|
Legal
system:
|
based
on English common law; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request
of supreme head of the federation; Islamic law is
applied to Muslims in matters of family law and
religion; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
|
|
Suffrage:
|
21
years of age; universal
|
|
Executive
branch:
|
chief
of state: King
- Sultan MIZAN Zainal Abidin (since 13 December
2006); (the position of the king is primarily
ceremonial)
head
of government: Prime
Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Razak (since 3
April 2009); Deputy Prime Minister MUHYIDDIN bin
Mohamed Yassin (since 9 April 2009)
cabinet:
Cabinet
appointed by the prime minister from among the
members of Parliament with consent of the king
(For
more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections:
kings
elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine
of the states for five-year terms; selection based
on principle of rotation among rulers of states;
election last held on 3 November 2006 (next to be
held in 2011); prime minister designated from
among the members of the House of Representatives;
following legislative elections, the leader who
commands the support of the majority of members in
the House becomes prime minister (since
independence this has been the leader of the UMNO
party)
election
results: Sultan
MIZAN Zainal Abidin elected king
|
|
Legislative
branch:
|
bicameral
Parliament or Parlimen consists of Senate or Dewan
Negara (70 seats; 44 members appointed by the
king, 26 elected by 13 state legislatures to serve
three-year terms with a two term limit) and House
of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (222 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve up to
five-year terms)
elections:
House
of Representatives - last held on 8 March 2008
(next to be held by June 2013)
election
results: House
of Representatives - percent of vote - BN
coalition 50.3%, opposition parties 46.8%, others
2.9%; seats - BN coalition 140, opposition parties
82
|
|
Judicial
branch:
|
civil
courts include Federal Court, Court of Appeal,
High Court of Malaya on peninsula Malaysia, and
High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in states of
Borneo (judges are appointed by the king on the
advice of the prime minister); sharia courts
include Sharia Appeal Court, Sharia High Court,
and Sharia Subordinate Courts at state-level and
deal with religious and family matters such as
custody, divorce, and inheritance only for
Muslims; decisions of sharia courts cannot be
appealed to civil courts
|
|
Political
parties and leaders:
|
National
Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN (ruling coalition)
consists of the following parties: Gerakan
Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [KOH Tsu Koon];
Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal Demokratik
- Sabah) or LDP [LIEW Vui Keong]; Malaysian
Chinese Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or
MCA [CHUA Soi Lek]; Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongres
India Malaysia) or MIC [Govindasamy PALANIVEL];
Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah or PBRS [Joseph KURUP];
Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan];
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu or PBB [Abdul TAIB
Mahmud]; Parti Rakyat Sarawak or PRS [James MASING];
Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Bersatu
Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [George CHAN Hong Nam];
United Malays National Organization or UMNO [NAJIB
bin Abdul Razak]; United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun
Murut Organization (Pertubuhan Pasko Momogun
Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [Bernard DOMPOK];
People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif
Penduduk Malaysia) or PPP [M.Kayveas]; Sarawak
Progressive Democratic Party or SPDP [William
MAWAN])
People's
Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat) or PR (opposition
coalition) consists of the following parties: Democratic
Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KARPAL
Singh]; Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam se
Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang]; People's
Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) or PKR [WAN
AZIZAH Wan Ismail]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP
[Edwin DUNDANG]
independent
party: Sabah
Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Saban) or SAPP
[YONG Teck Lee]
|
|
Political
pressure groups and leaders:
|
Bar
Council; BERSIH (electoral reform coalition);
PEMBELA (Muslim NGO coalition)
other:
religious
groups; women's groups; youth groups
|
|
International
organization participation:
|
ADB,
APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CICA (observer), CP,
D-8, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU,
ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA,
PIF (partner), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
|
Diplomatic
representation in the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador
JAMALUDDIN Jarjis
chancery:
3516
International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1]
(202) 572-9700
FAX: [1]
(202) 572-9882
consulate(s)
general: Los
Angeles, New York
|
|
Diplomatic
representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador
Paul W. JONES
embassy:
376
Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
mailing
address: US
Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152
telephone:
[60]
(3) 2168-5000
FAX: [60]
(3) 2142-2207
|
|
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 14-pointed star; the flag is
often referred to as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of
Glory); the 14 stripes stand for the equal status
in the federation of the 13 member states and the
federal government; the 14 points on the star
represent the unity between these entities; the
crescent is a traditional symbol of Islam; blue
symbolizes the unity of the Malay people and
yellow is the royal color of Malay rulers
note:
the
design is based on the flag of the US
|
|
National
anthem:
|
name: "Negaraku"
(My Country)
lyrics/music:
collective,
led by Tunku ABDUL RAHMAN/Pierre Jean DE BERANGER
note:
adopted
1957; the full version is only performed in the
presence of the king; the tune, which was adopted
from a popular French melody titled "La
Rosalie," was originally the anthem of the
state of Perak
|
Other
Related Sites...
|