The Malaysian Government

Ministries, Government Departments & Agencies

Malaysia practises Parliamentary Democracy with Constitutional Monarchy and His Royal Highness is the Paramount Ruler. The Federal Constitution was legislated with the setting up of conditions for this system to exist. One of the conditions of Parliamentary Democracy is the division of the administrative power into three parts, which are Legislative, Judiciary, and Administrative or Executive.

Representing the interests of the multi-ethnic electorate, the Malaysian government has been fully independent since 1957. By no means comprehensive, we present a simple basic description of the country’s highest elected authority.

Malaysia’s structure of government is unique, consisting of a monarchical Head of State (the Supreme Ruler), a federation of states that have their own unique set of state laws, and a Federal Parliament comprising two Houses: the Senate (Dewan Negara) and the House of Representative (Dewan Rakyat).

The Senate (Dewan Negara)

The Senate consists of 70 members – 44 members of which are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister, including two members from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, and one member each from the Federal Territory of Labuan and Putrajaya.  The remaining 26 members are elected by the 13 States Legislative Assembly, where each State is represented by two members. The present President of the Senate is YB Tan Sri. Dato' Seri Dr. Abdul Hamid Pawanteh

The House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)

The House of Representatives, sometimes referred to as the Lower House, is fully elected body, with the exceptional provision made for the Speaker of the House (Speaker Dewan Rakyat), who may be elected from non-members of the House. The House of Representatives consists of 219 members who hold office for a period of five years. Members of the House are elected by the people through general elections, where each member represents a constituency. The present Speaker of the House is YB Tan Sri Dato' Seri Diraja Ramli bin Ngah Talib.

The Cabinet

The Prime Minister comes to power via first-past-the-post electoral system. The Political Party, with the majority of winning parliamentary seats across the country, fields its head for the post of Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister heads his Cabinet of Ministers, supported by appointed Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, and more importantly, the administrative machinery.

The head of the civil service within each Ministry is represented by the Secretary-General, who is not a political appointee, but is selected to serve in any Ministry or Government Agency by the Public Service Commission.

After the 2004 General Elections, the number of ministries increased from 25 to 28, in response to the growing needs and importance of certain sectors such as education, arts, culture and heritage, the plantation industries and tourism.

Titles, Honours, Awards and Decorations

All Members of Parliament (MPs), whether they are from the Senate or the House of Representatives, are given the honorific address of Yang Berhormat. There are variations, such as Yang Berhormat Mulia, reserved for Members of Parliament of royal lineage.

The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are given the honorific Yang Amat Berhormat.