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Politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal representative democratic constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. Legislative power is vested in the federal parliament and the 13 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a certain level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts.
The Constitution of Malaysia is codified and the system of government is based on the Westminster system. The hierarchy of authority in Malaysia, in accordance to the Federal Constitution, stipulates the three branches (administrative components) of the Malaysian government as consisting of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branch. Whereas, the Parliament consists of the Dewan Negara (Upper House/Senate) and Dewan Rakyat (Lower House/House of Representatives).[1]
Malaysia has had a multi-party system since the first direct election of the Federal Legislative Council of Malaya in 1955 on a first-past-the-post basis. The ruling party was the Alliance Party (Malay: Parti Perikatan) coalition and from 1973 onwards, its successor, the Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition. Together with its predecessor, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government served for 61 years and was one of the world's longest serving governments until it lost power to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in the 14th general election that was held on 9 May 2018. Following the 2020–22 Malaysian political crisis, the Perikatan Nasional government served from 1 March 2020 to 17 August 2021 when Barisan Nasional withdrew support and left the coalition.
The opposition primarily consist of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which comprises the Democratic Action Party (DAP), People's Justice Party (PKR), National Trust Party (Amanah) and United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) with Sabah Heritage Party (Warisan) as confidence-and-supply partner. Other opposition parties include the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), the Homeland Fighters' Party (PEJUANG) and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).
Although Malaysian politics has been relatively stable, critics allege that "the government, ruling party, and administration are intertwined with few countervailing forces."[2] However, since the 8 March 2008 General Election, the media's coverage on the country's politics has noticeably increased. After the 14th general elections, media freedom was promised by then new government of Malaysia, the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Malaysia a "flawed democracy" in 2016.[3] However, Malaysia was a runner up to the Economist 2018 "Country of the Year" in 2018 due to the peaceful transfer of power following the 14th general elections.[4]
- ^ Jeong Chun Hai @Ibrahim, & Nor Fadzlina Nawi. (2012). Principles of Public Administration: Malaysian Perspectives. Kuala Lumpur: Pearson Publishers. ISBN 978-967-349-233-6
- ^ "Conclusion". In John Funston (Ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, p. 413. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 1-84277-105-1.
- ^ solutions, EIU digital. "Democracy Index 2016 - The Economist Intelligence Unit". www.eiu.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
- ^ "The Economist Names Armenia "Country of the Year" | CIVILNET". Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.