Constitution and

Society in Malaysia
The Constitution of Malaysia

 The Federal Constitution came into force in 1957

 The supreme law of Malaysia
 Establishes the Federation as a constitutional Monarchy with the
Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) as the head of state
 Breaks the government into three branches; the Parliament, the
Executive branch and the Judical branch
Historical background of
Constitution
 Constitutional conference held in London from 18 Jan to 6 Feb 1956
when independence was promised to Federation of Malaya
 The conference outcome: Reid Commission was formed to devise a
constitution
 special provisions protecting special position for the Malays, such as
quotas in admission to higher education and the civil service
 Islam the official religion of the federation
 Malay the official language of the nation
Federal Constitution of Malaysia

 Was known as federal constitution of Malaya (until Sabah, Sarawak and

Singapore joined)
 Federation: a political body described by a combination provinces
united by a central government
 Malaysian government comprises of the federal, state and local
government
 Adopts the principle of separation of powers which are into three
branches; executive, legislature and judiciary
 The monarchy is head of the government and is called the YDPA and is
elected for 5 years
 The conference of rulers are the supreme institution in the country
consist of the nine Sultans of the states
Federal legislative (Parliament)

 Legislative power divided between federal and state

 Bicameral parliament: lower house which is the House of
Representatives and the upper house which is the Senate
 Members of the Senate(70 Senators) are called senators and sit for a
period of 3 years for a term
 The house of representatives consist of 222 members and are
elected for 5 years by law
Federal Executive (Cabinet)

 Led by the Prime Minister which is chosen by the YDPA and must be
a member of the Lower House of Parliament
 Followed by various ministers
 Formulates various socio-economic policies and development plans
for the country
 Has the power and authority to generate revenues through various
taxes, fines and many more
Judiciary

 The superior court of Malaysia consist of High Court, Court of Appeal

and the Federal Court
 Chief of Justice is the name given to the head of the court
History
Society comparison Malaysia and
Indonesia
Malaysia Indonesia
Political nature: Malaysia and
Brunei
Malaysia Brunei
 federal parliamentary  absolute monarchy or sultanate
constitutional monarchy
 4 districts
 13 states
 1 January 1984 (from the UK)
 31 August 1957 (from the UK)