Malasia

Official name: 
Federation of Malaysia
Name in local language: 
Persekutuan Malaysia
Form of government: 
Monarchy
Political system: 
Parliamentary Democracy

    

  • Founding date/ Date of independence: 1963 (from the United Kingdom); the process formally started in 1957 but was not achieved until 1963.
  • Date of constitution/reform: 1957 with several amendments, the last one in 2009.
  • Form of state: Federal state
  • Administrative divisions: 13 states and 3 federal territories
  • Official language(s):   Malay Bahasa
  • Other spoken languages: English. Tamil and Chinese dialects,
  • Official religion:  Islam, although as a national symbol rather than inspiring legislation.
  • Minorities: most important religious minorities are Buddhists, Christians, Hindu and Chinese traditional religions. Ethic minorities:  Chinese and Tamil.
  • Dominant actor(s): National Front (Barisan Nasional)
  • Elected institutions of government:  parliament (two chambers), state assemblies and municipal councils. The king is also elected on rotatory basis every 5 years among the 9 royal families.
  • Non-elected  institutions of government: N/A
  • Party system: Multi-party system, with a hegemonic actor, the National Front, a coalition of political parties normally holding power.

Current authorities

  • Head of state: Sultan Abdullah of Pahang
  • Head of government: Mahathir bin Mohammad
  • Minister of Foreign Affairs: Sri Anifah Hj. Aman
  • Minister of Interior:  Datuk  Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
  • Head(s) of Legislative Branch: Datuk Seri Panglima Pandikar Amin Haj Mulia (Speaker of the lower house)
  • Composition legislative branch: Link to PDF
  • Head of the Judiciary: Md Raus Sharif, president of the Supreme Court.
  • Schematic representation of the political system: Link to PDF

Links