Government of Malaysia

Malaysia's Parliament House

Prime Minister Speeches (Full Text)

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Your Highnesses, Your Excellencies, People of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. I am indeed proud that on this, the greatest day in Malaya's history it falls to my lot to proclaim the formal independence of this country. Today as new page is turned, and Malaya steps forward to take her rightful place as a free and independent partner in the great community of Nations - a new nation is born and though we fully realise that difficulties and problems lie ahead, we are confident that, with the blessing of God, these difficulties will be overcome and that today's events, down the avenues of history, will be our inspiration and our guide...read more>>>

Malaysia's Parliament House includes a tall, modem, office block which overlooks the Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur.

The sovereign and head of state of Malaysia is called the yang di-pertuan agong. He must be one of the nine he­reditary state rulers, who, by rotation, choose one of them­selves to hold the office for a period of five years.
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Political Terms

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Useful links
The Roles and Powers of Prime Minister and The Cabinet
Government of The United Kingdom
Overview of The UK Government
The Rise of Hitler and National Socialism 
Communism: History and Background
The Rise of Democracy - Government in Ancient Greek
Socialism, Fascism, Capitalism and Liberalism

Government of Malaysia. Malaysia has a demo­cratic and federal system of government. A central par­liament and 13 state legislative assemblies share politi­cal power. The central parliament consists of two houses, the Dewan Negara (upper house) and the Dewan Rakyat (lower house). The Dewan Undangan Negeri (state legislative assemblies) have only one house. Members of parliament and the assemblies are elected by popular vote. The political party which wins the greatest number of seats in an election becomes the party of government.

Malaysia is also a constitutional monarchy. The head of the central government is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king). Nine of the states have a sultan as their head, and each of the four other states has a Yang di-Pertua Negeri (governor), appointed by the king.

Constitutional monarchy

Constitution. The constitution of Malaysia is a writ­ten document. It provides the framework for governing the country. It is the basis for making laws and sharing power between federal and state governments. It also controls the roles and functions of administrations and the jurisdiction of courts of law. It gives the federal gov­ernment wide powers to control defence, foreign rela­tions, education, health, finance, trade and industry, and internal affairs. State governments have their own power especially in agriculture and land administration, as well as social welfare and religious affairs. When Malaysia was formed in 1967, it was agreed that Sabah and Sara­wak should have greater powers than the other states.

The constitution guarantees fundamental liberties for Malaysian citizens. These guarantees include: the right of life; freedom of speech, assembly and association; freedom from arbitrary arrest; total prohibition of slav­ery; equality; freedom of movement; freedom of reli­gion; freedom of education; and the right to own prop­erty. The king may, on the advice of the prime minister, declare a national emergency. At such a time, citizens have to give up many of their rights in the interest of the country's security. Two-thirds of the members of both houses of the federal parliament and the rulers of the states must agree to any important changes in the con­stitution. In 1993, the Dewan Rakyat passed an amend­ment that removed the sultan's constitutional right to personal immunity from prosecution.

Monarchy. The yang di-pertuan agong,'or king, is Malaysia's head of state. He acts on the advice of parlia­ment and the cabinet. The king appoints the prime min­ister and has the power to agree or refuse to dissolve parliament, even against the advice of the prime minis­ter. As supreme commander of the armed forces, the king has the power of mercy in cases of court martial. He also appoints the judges of the supreme court on the advice of the prime minister.

The yang di-pertuan agong is an elected ruler. Mem­bers of the Conference of Rulers from the nine states elect one of their number to be the supreme ruler for a period of five years. They choose the king on the basis of seniority and rotation.

The Conference of Rulers consists of the nine rulers of the states and the four governors. The conference ha; the power to appoint judges, the election commission, and the public service commission. It also influences any changes in state boundaries, the laws concerning Islamic religion made by the federal parliament, and any proposal to change the constitution.

National government

Parliament. The Federal Parliament makes and changes laws. It consists of the king (when he addresses parliament at the beginning of its meeting each year), and the two houses of parliament, the Dewan Rakyat, and the Dewan Negara.

The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the parlia­ment. It has a total of 177 elected members. General elections take place every five years. Malaysia has an election commission, appointed by the king, which di­vides the country into constituencies (voting areas). The people of each constituency elect one representative to the Dewan Rakyat. All citizens of Malaysia who are over the age of 21 years can vote or stand for election. Voting is not compulsory.

To stand for election as a member of the Dewan Rakyat, a person must be a citizen and resident in the country. He or she must not be insane, bankrupt, or a convicted criminal who has been sentenced to more than a year's imprisonment.

Members of parliament (MP'S) receive a salary for their services. All MPs belong to political parties. Members of parliament may resign their seats at any time, in which case there must be a new election for the seat I within 60 days. The person who presides over the meet­ing of parliament is called the yang di-pertua Dewan Rakyat (speaker). The MP's elect a speaker from one of ‘ their number. Two deputy speakers take the chair in the absence of the speaker.

Dewan Negara is the upper house of the Malaysian parliament. It has 69 members, 29 of them elected by state legislative assemblies. The king appoints the other 40 members on the basis of their experience, or to rep­resent the professional, commercial, and minority groups.

Members of the Dewan Negara usually serve for a pe­riod of three years. To be a member of the Dewan Ne­gara a person must be at least 30 years old. The mem­bers of the Dewan Negara elect a yang di-pertua Dewan Negara (president).

The Dewan Negara has less power to make laws than the Dewan Rakyat. It meets immediately after the Dewan Rakyat and reviews any bill passed by that body. The Dewan Negara may initiate some legislation and may delay laws for one year. In practice, the Dewan Negara usually agrees with the government, since many of its members are appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister.

Central government The prime minister and the cabinet are in charge of the central government of Ma­laysia. The yang di-pertuan agong appoints the prime minister, who represents the most popular political party at a general election. On the advice of the prime minister, the yang di-pertuan agong also appoints mem­bers of either the Dewan Rakyat or the Dewan Negara to be ministers in the cabinet.

The cabinet makes long-term plans for the develop­ment and defence of Malaysia. Whenever necessary, the cabinet makes laws, through parliament, to carry out government policies. Cabinet ministers supervise the work of government departments and give orders to civil servants.

The yang di-pertuan agong, having taken the advice of the prime minister, may also appoint deputy minis­ters. The deputies assist the ministers in their responsi­bilities.

Each minister is in charge of a government ministry, which contains several government departments. The minister is the chief executive, linking a group of civil servants to the cabinet. There are many departments, large and small, which make up the Malaysian bureauc­racy.

The federal civil service employs more than 80,000 people in the various departments. The high-level ad­ministrators, who carry out executive jobs, train at the National Institute of Administration. The Public Service Department controls the civil service. A chief secretary heads the entire administrative bureaucracy.

Local government

State government. State governments (except for Sabah and Sarawak) have few powers. Their most im­portant functions include control of land administration, control of local government, provision of housing, wel­fare services and water supplies, and the administration of the Islamic religion. Sabah and Sarawak also have control of immigration.

State rulers. All states of Malaysia, except for Melaka, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak have rulers as their official heads of state. Most rulers have the title of sultan, but the ruler of Perlis is called the raja and the ruler of Negeri Sembilan is called yang di-pertuan besar.

Most of the rulers are hereditary heads of states.

Their eldest son succeeds to the throne when they die. But in Negeri Sembilan, the ruler is elected from among all the sons of the royal family. In Perak, three royal fami­lies take it in turns to succeed to the throne.

Rulers are the heads of the Islamic religion in their own states. They also have the same powers in their states as the yang di-pertuan agong has in Malaysia.

Melaka, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak have heads of states who are not hereditary. The yang di-pertuan agong appoints them to four-year terms on the advice of the chief minister of the state concerned. The heads of state have much the same position as the rulers in the other nine states, but have no religious function and lack the traditional authority of the ruler.

Legislative assemblies. State legislative assemblies closely resemble the Dewan Rakyat in their organization. There is no senate or upper house at state level. The as­semblies hold debates and pass laws on matters that come within the powers of the states. The people of each state elect representatives to the legislative assem­blies for five-year terms. The members of the legislative assemblies receive salaries, and most belong to political parties.

Each state has a set number of members in its legisla­tive assembly, Johor has 56, Kedah 36, Kelantan 45, Melaka 28, Negeri Sembilan 36, Pahang 42, Penang 40, Perak 59, Perlis 15, Sabah 60, Sarawak 71, Selangor 55, and Terengganu 31.

Executive councils are the cabinets of the state gov­ernments. They are usually called the majlis kerajaan. In the states of Sabah and Sarawak they are known as cabi­nets. The head of the executive council in each of the nine states that have rulers is the menteri besar. In the four other states, the chief minister is called ketua men­teri. The minister's function is largely similar to that of the prime minister in the federal government.

The state executive councils differ slightly from the cabinets in that they have three nonelected official mem­bers. These are the state secretary, the state legal ad­viser, and the state financial officer. These officials have the right to attend the meetings of the council but they cannot vote on any decision. Their function is mainly to advise the council on matters in which they are compe­tent

State administrators. Most states have several ad­ministrative districts. The exceptions are Perlis, which is too small, and Sabah and Sarawak, which are large and also have subdistricts. A district officer and several as­sistant officers administer each district They implement the decisions of local authorities and coordinate the ac­tivities of local, state, and federal government depart­ments. In addition, each state has its own civil service headed by the state secretary. There are about 20,000 state civil servants.

Local government Local government is largely the responsibility of individual states. The federal govern­ment has certain powers through the National Council for Local Government This body coordinates the work of local councils, municipalities, and city councils. It calls meetings of the local authorities. It also makes de­cisions which are binding on both the federal and the state governments. The federal government has direct control of the government of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan Island.

Kuala Lumpur city has a city council with the mayor as the chief executive, assisted by the director general of Kuala Lumpur city.

There are four other local authorities with the status of cities in Malaysia: Ipoh, George Town, Penang, and the twin cities of Kuching North and Kuching South in Sarawak. Each of the cities is under the control of a mayor, who administers them through the city councils.

History

Malaya was divided into states, similar to the present states, before 1800. Local chiefs held considerable power in most of the central and southern states. The Si­amese (Thai) often overran the northern states.

British influence in Malaya began in 1786, when the British East India Company leased the island of Penang from the sultan of Kedah. British authorities continued to expand their activities in Malaya and in neighbouring areas throughout the 1800's. By the late 1930's, there were three types of territories in Malaya under varying degrees of British rule. The Straits Settlements, which consisted of Melaka, Penang, and Singapore, were gov­erned directly by British officials (see Straits Settle­ments). The Federated Malay States—Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, and Selangor—were partly ruled by Brit­ish officials. But they left some powers in the hands of the rulers. The rulers of the five unfederated Malay states—Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu-s retained even wider powers. Both Sabah and Sarawak were British protectorates (see Protectorate).

After World War II ended in 1945, Singapore was separated from Malaya, and Sabah and Sarawak became British colonies. In 1948, British and Malayan leaders agreed to form the Federation of Malaya, a union of all the Malayan states. The agreement paved the way for Malaya's independence by setting up a legislative coun­cil and an executive council, which later developed into a national parliament and cabinet. Malaya gained full in­dependence in 1957. In 1959, Singapore won independ­ence in home affairs, but its defence and foreign policy remained under British control.

In 1963, Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined together to form the new state of Malaysia.

Tunku Abdul Rahman, who had previously been the prime minister of the Federation of Malaya, became the first prime minister of Malaysia (see Abdul Rahman, Tunku).

During the first years of its life, the government of Malaysia had to face many strains. President Sukarno of Indonesia objected to the fact that Sabah and Sarawak had joined Malaysia, and he began a policy that he called "confrontation." Indonesia organized a series of armed invasions into Malaysian territory, especially Sarawak. The attacks forced the Malaysian government to increase defence spending, rather than improve other government services.

In addition, the new state of Malaysia was strained by a series of disputes between the federal government and the Singapore government The disputes were partly about political ideas and partly about the sharing of federal and state revenues. Eventually, both governments decided that it was impossible for them to agree, and in 1965, Singapore left Malaysia and became inde­pendent The government amended the constitution of Malaysia to include only Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak. See also communism, political terms...

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What is Government?

A GOVERNMENT is the system by which a state or community is governed. In British English (and that of the Commonwealth of Nations), a government more narrowly refers to the particular executive in control of a state at a given time - known in American English as an administration. In American English, government refers to the larger system by which any state is organized. Furthermore, government is occasionally used in English as a synonym for governance.

In the case of its broad definition, government normally consists of legislators, administrators, and arbitrators. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political systems and institutions that make up the organisation of a specific government.

States are served by a continuous succession of different governments. Each successive government is composed of a body of individuals who control and exercise control over political decision-making. Their function is to make and enforce laws and arbitrate conflicts. In some societies, this group is often a self-perpetuating or hereditary class. In other societies, such as democracies, the political roles remain, but there is frequent turnover of the people actually filling the positions.

Government of any kind currently affects every human activity in many important ways. For this reason, political scientists generally argue that government should not be studied by itself; but should be studied along with anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, science, andsociology.

Meaning

[COUNTABLE/UNCOUNTABLE] the people who control a country, region, or town and make decisions about its laws and taxes: followed by a singular or plural verb

The government has announced plans to raise theminimum wage next year.

a democratically elected government

under a government (=during the government of a particular party): 

Under the Conservativegovernment things were very different.

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/government

GOVERNMENT is one of humanity’s oldest and most important institutions. From earliest times, some kind of government has been a vital part of every society. This is because every society needs some people to make and enforce decisions that affect conduct within the group. The term government also refers to the process of exercising power in a group.

Any formal or informal group – a family, a church, a club, a business, a trade union – may be said to have government. But when we speak of government, we generally mean public government, such as that of a nation, a state, a province, a country, a city, or a village. This article, mainly discusses the nature and powers of public governments.

Government of some kind affects every human activity in important ways. For that reason, most political scientists (specialists in the study of government) believe that government should not be studied by itself. They urge that when we study government we should also know something about anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, science and sociology. Therefore, this articles on these subjects should be read in connection with the Government article.

Element of Government

A number of basic elements are common to all governments. These basic elements are (1) RULES OF CONDUCT, (2) SOVEREIGNTY, (3) LEGITIMACY, (4) JURISDICTION AND (5) ENFORCEMENT.

RULES OF CONDUCT – Every group of people from a family to a nation – has rules of conduct to govern the lives of its members. For example, a family may have a rule that all its members be on time for meals. This rule makes it possible for the family members to eat together and then go about their own business. It is meant to keep life running smoothly for group members.

The rules made by a group are really decisions about matters that affect the group as a whole. The decisions are designed to encourage or require certain kinds of behavior, or to discourage or forbid other kinds of behavior by individual members.

SOVEREIGENTY  – is supreme power or authority. A sovereignty government has the authority to use force within its boundaries. Through the years, different ideas about the source of a public government’s sovereignty have developed. An early idea was that a government ruled by divine right. This idea suggested  than authority flowed to the government from God and was total and unlimited. Today, the people are regarded as the chief source of the government’s authority in democratic countries.

LEGITIMACY – is the acceptance by the people of the government’s authority to exercise power. No political system can exist unless its government has such acceptance. The legitimacy of a government depends in part on the socialization of its people. Socialization is a learning process in which the people come to accept the standards of their society. Most countries promote socialization through educational systems that teach people to have positive views about their government. In government as a flag or national anthem.

Jurisdiction means the right or power of making and enforcing rules or laws. The jurisdiction of a public government extends over all people who live in a certain area. The only way a person can escape such jurisdiction is to move out of its area.

Public government have broad functional jurisdiction. Functional jurisdiction refers to the range of activities to which their rules or laws apply. Public governments can govern behaviour that affects NATIONAL DEFENCE, SOCIAL WELFARE, THE ECONOMY, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE, PUBLIC HEALTH, EDUCATION, TAXATION, AND TRANSPORTATION. In addition, public governments regulate most businesses, professions and trades.

LAW ENFORCEMENT – Rules of conduct are likely to have much effect unless people obey them. If the members of a group were permitted to ignore them. If the members of a group were permitted to ignore or disobey its rules, a society could not operate. Soon there would be no law or order.

Most people obey the discussions of their willingly. But some must be forced to obey the threat of punishment. Clubs, businesses and trade unions have officers who enforce their regulations. Cities and nations have police officers, traffic wardens, judges and soldiers to enforce their laws. Enforcement usually means some kind of punishment for people found guilty of disobedience. Those who have the power to control behavior by making and enforcing the rules of a group are often called a power structure.

Probably the most important difference between private and public government lies in how they enforce their rules or laws. Only public governments have the right to define certain acts as crime or to use physical force against disobedient people. A private government, such as a club, may fine or even expel a disobedient member. But only a public government can legally imprison a person.

The scope of Government

Many questions about government concern the relations between public and private governments. How far and over what kinds of activities, should the functional jurisdiction of public governments extend? Should the goods and services needed by the people be produced and provided entirely by private governments? Or should some industries and services be owned and operated by public governments? Should businesses and trade unions settle their dispute by themselves? Or should some public government step in to iron out worker-management disagreements? Who should established educational standards for schools and colleges-public or private governments? Should public governments manage the way news is reported in newspapers or on radio or television? Or should all   news reporting be controlled only by private governments?

ANARCHISM – Some people believe that public governments should have little or no functional jurisdiction. The most extreme belief of this kind is called anarchism. Anarchists believe that all public governments conflict with personal liberty and are necessary. Thus, anarchists would eliminate all public governments and let only individuals and private groups govern the activities of a country. Anarchism had some influence in the 1800’s but has few followers today.

TOTALITARIANISM – At the other extreme from anarchism is totalitarianism. Totalitarian governments demand total loyalty. They seek to regulate or even destroy such institutions as THE FAMILY, CHURCH, PRIVATE BUSINESSES, OR TRADE UNION. There are no limits on the functional jurisdiction of such governments. Totalitarian countries are usually governed by a small group of people. They put down all opposition and try to socialize citizens to believe the state is all-important individual freedoms are given little importance. Some totalitarian systems require total loyalty to a particular leader or group of leaders. These systems include MILITARY DICTATORSHIPS. Other totalitarian  systems require citizens to believe in a certain system of ideas. All types of totalitarian governments use force, the threat of force or terrorism to maintain control of the people. The basic idea of totalitarianism  exists today – in varying degree – in such Communist countries as China, Cuba and North Korea.  In practice, however, few governments have been able to extend their functional jurisdiction to every kind of group or individual behavior. Some private groups, such as families and churches, continue to make some rules for their members.

PLUALISM – Most nations have both public and private governments to make and enforce rules of behavior. These countries are called pluralistic because public and private groups have legitimacy and can affect the way the country is run. Groups representing the interests of BUSINESSES, FARMING, LABOUR, OR ETHNIC SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY work with public government to develop public policy.  Each group exerts pressure on the others and on public government. Together, they produce balancing pressures that keep a single group from taking over. In pluralistic societies, interaction among interest groups is a way forming public opinion.

Freedom for the individual is the most important value in a pluralistic system. People in pluralistic countries generally place firm limits on government powers that affect the rights of individuals. Private individuals and groups generally accept the procedure of working out their conflicts in the judicial and legislative systems of public government. The rules for resolving conflicts are found in a constitution and laws, and are an important part of a pluralistic society. Preserving these rules thus becomes a primary goal of the political system.

The public governments of some PLURALISTIC COUNTRIES, such as Sweden, base some of their economic policies on the principles of SOCIALISM. These public government own or operate certain basis industries or services. Other pluralistic countries, such as the United States have mixed economies. They base their economies on the principles of CAPITALISM, also called FREE ENTREPRISE. In these countries, almost all industries and services are owned or operated by individuals or private groups under government regulation.