Dewan Negara

Senate Dewan Negara ديوان نڬارا‎
15th Parliament
Type
Type	Upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia
History
Founded	11 September 1959
Leadership
President	Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah, GPS–PBB since 22 July 2024
Deputy President	Nur Jazlan Mohamed, BN–UMNO since 19 June 2023
Secretary	Muhd Sujairi Abdullah since 22 February 2020
Structure
Seats	70
Political groups	As of 21 November 2024[update] Government (49)   BN (16)   UMNO (10)   MIC (4)   MCA (2)   PH (16)   PKR (8)   DAP (4)   AMANAH (3)   UPKO (1)   GPS (7)   PBB (4)   PRS (1)   PDP (1)   SUPP (1)   GRS (4)   GAGASAN (2)   PCS (1)   STAR (1)   Independent (6) Opposition (9)   PN (9)   PAS (7)   GERAKAN (1)   BERSATU (1) Vacant (11)
Committees	4 Selection Committee House Committee Committee on Rights and Freedoms Meeting Rules Committee
Length of term	Up to 3 years, renewable once
Meeting place
Dewan Negara Chamber Malaysian Houses of Parliament, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Website
Official website

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 Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah 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) Chief Secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar
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 Vacant Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli
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The Dewan Negara (English: Senate, lit. 'State Council'; Jawi: ديوان نڬارا‎) is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the state legislative assemblies, with two senators for each state, while the other 44 are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia), including four who are appointed to represent the federal territories.

The Dewan Negara usually reviews legislation that has been passed by the lower house, the Dewan Rakyat. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara (the Senate), before they are sent to the Agong 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, a restriction similar to that placed on the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. Like the Dewan Rakyat, the Dewan Negara meets at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur.

Originally, the Dewan Negara was meant to act as a check on the Dewan Rakyat and represent the interests of the various states, based on the role played by its counterpart in the United States. However, the original constitution, which provided for a majority of state-elected senators, has since been modified to make the vast majority of senators instead appointed by the Agong, thus theoretically providing an avenue for a relatively non-partisan reconsideration of bills, more similar to the role of the British House of Lords.