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
- Government of Malaysia
- Ministry of Interior/Home Affairs
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The Star: Leading English-language newspaper and largest in circulation
- Bernama: Official News Agency
- Constitution
- Election law: 1958 Election act, revised in 1970 and ammended in 2007.
- E-Federal Gazette of Malaysia: Legal Official Journal