5. Parliamentary Democracy in Malaysia

8/2/2019 5. Parliamentary Democracy in Malaysia

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Parliamentary Democracy in

Malaysia

GENERAL ELECTION

The most important issue here is the

action of a citizen who fulfills the


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conditions for voting or choosing a candidateor representative, who in his opinion is ableand capable of representing the community in

an electoral constituency, that is a HouseRepresentative and a State LegislativeAssembly area

The process of voting which is called electionfinally determines which candidate or partywins or forms the government


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The entire general election process involvesthe business of nominating the candidate,protesting, voting, ballot counting and

announcing the results Balloting is carried out secretly and

independently that is nobody will know who ischosen and by whom during balloting andnobody can force a voter to choose certaincandidates


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In this context, the general election characterizesthe foundation of democracy

Significance of the General Election

Elections give the citizens the right to pick theirown government in line with the philosophy ofdemocracy, from the people to the people andfor the people

The party that wins the election at the


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Parliamentary level with a majority , will form

the central government, while those who win

with a majority at the State Legislative

Assembly level will form the state

government, that means a government

formed by the people through an election is a

government of the people, and of course, thegovernment places the peoples interests

above that of the party , and the other


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people who lead the party after winning theelection

Elections in the practice of democracy,

constitute a social contract between thepeople and the candidate or party (thatsucceeds to form the government); and theyshould fulfill the partys promises andmanifesto proclaimed in the electioncampaign


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The election is very important because it is a

legal means for the people to form and

change a government to look after their

interests

The results of an election are determined by

the people with a simple majority and the

loser will have to accept the results readilyand respect it


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It must be underlined that the election is animportant method for sustaining anddesigning democracy

Types of Election First, the general election for the whole

country, held once every five years or after

Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly isdissolved

The next is the by-elections which do not


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involve the dissolution of any of the assembly

nor do they follow a fixed schedule

Besides the two categories above, there was

once another type of election, that is, the

general election for the Local Government

created by the 1960 Local Government

Elections Act to elect Executive members forthe Town or District Council


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When are General Elections held?

In principle a general election is held onceevery five years

However, a general election can also be held

before the term is up In both situations, prior to carrying out the

election, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must

dissolve Parliament on the advice or at therequest of the Prime Minister at the federallevel


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At the state level, a general election is heldafter the State Legislative Assembly isdissolved by the Ruler/Sultan or Yang Dipertua

Negeri at the request of the Menteri Besar orChief Minister

As soon as Parliament is dissolved, theelections must be held within 60 days in WestMalaysia and within 90 days in Sabah andSarawak


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The time specified is reasonable for theElection Commission to prepare the electionarrangements and the contesting parties to

get ready, hold campaigns and constructdefinite strategies following the regulations orlaws that have been fixed from time to time

The by-election is held at the death of arepresentative or member or if there is avacant seat because of absenteeism from


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meetings for a fixed period of time

By-election is also held when the generalelection result of a constituency is considered

not legal by a court after a charge has beenofficially made following rules and legislation

By-election involving a particular electoral

constituency whether Parliamentary or Statemay be required if there are technicalproblems found in the process of the election


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The Voters and his Conditions

The voter is an individual who has the right

and qualifies to ballot in an election regardless

of religion, race, ethnic group, colour, height,

body size or gender

According to the Constitution, Article 119(1),

every Malaysian can vote for the House of

Representatives or the State LegislativeCouncil election:


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1. On reaching the age of 21 on the qualifyingdate; and

2. Resides in an election division on the

(qualifying) date or if not residing isconsidered as absentee voter

Even if the above conditions are complete,

the person cannot vote if his name does notappear on the electoral list, that is adocument in which are listed the names of


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voters in an electoral constituency

According to General Election Rules 14 and 15,

1959, those whose names are not recorded in

the list are not allowed to vote

A person can register or check whether his

name is still listed in the constituency register

through the Election website at any time or

can be done at the village level, that is,


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electoral roll checking such as town halls,village head complexes, public halls, rukuntetangga centers, official government

buildings or at other strategic places easilyaccessed by the local community

The qualifying date refers to the 31st Augusteach year, that is, the date for checking andpreparing the voters register each year by theElection Commission through the Election


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Ordinance (Ordinance No. 33, 1958)

This means every citizen who becomes 21 on

31st August and resides in the electoral

constituency and is registered, can vote for

the constituency of the State Legislative

Assembly and House of Representatives

The word not residing means not living or

present in an electoral constituency during


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the time of the election

A voter not residing in an electoralconstituency is described as an absentee voter

and can still vote According to the law there are three

categories of absentee voters:

1. A Malaysian citizen who is working in theFederation Armed Forces or Commonwealthcountries, who, with his wife lives in a


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residence provided by the Armed Forcesauthority on the date of application to registeras a voter in the electoral district (the district

he registered)2. A Malaysian citizen living overseas with his

wife but working with the Federal or StateGovernment or local or semi-governmentauthority, who has applied to register himselfas a voter in the electoral constituency; and


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3. A Malaysian citizen (and wife) who isstudying abroad, who applies to registerhimself as a voter in the electoral constituency

This means, every citizen who fulfills theconditions but is abroad has the right tochoose and determine the prospective leadersof his electoral constituency

The process of forming the governmentthrough the act of voting by legal voters, is


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what is meant by the people having the

power to rule

Even if a citizen satisfies the conditions above,

there are two matters that can bar him from

voting, namely:

1. On the qualifying date he is held as a person

who does not have a fully sound mind or is

carrying out a jail sentence


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2. A person is found guilty and is imposed thedeath sentence or jail exceeding 12 months inany Commonwealth countries

In Malaysia a person can join any politicalparty at the age of 18, but the minimum agefor voting is still 21 because a person of 21 isregarded as an adult and can think in a maturemanner as any mistake in choosing theirconstituency representative can influence


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the socio-political life of the voters as a whole

Election Commission

To protect the function of the election as amechanism that pays homage to and sustains

democracy it must be administered with

transparency to convince people that the

practice of democracy is fully and properly

carried out


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According to Article 113 of the Constitution,the body that is responsible for managing andadministering the elections is the Election

Commission whose responsibilities can bedivided into three main areas:

1. Draw up the borders of the electoralconstituencies(every 10 -12 years)

2. Prepare and check the voters list for theelections(updating the votersregister); and


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3. Manage the election process for theParliamentary and State Legislative Assemblyconstituencies

The members of the Election Commission areappointed by the YDP Agong afterconsultations with the Council of Rulers(Article 114) which consists of a chairperson, adeputy and three other members

The office bearers of the Commission receive


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allowances according to the laws approved byParliament and Parliament can make changesto the terms for the post and its membership

The members are allowed to hold the postuntil the age of 65 and can resign from thepost by sending a letter to the YDP Agong

However. They cannot be simply dismissed,but have to go through special procedures asin the case of the dismissal of a judge of the


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Federal Court

However, the YDP Agong can dismiss amember if he is bankrupt or he is holding a

salaried post or becomes a member ofParliament or State Legislative Assembly

The manner of appointing the members of the

Commission clearly shows that theadministrators of the elections is free from allpolitical influence


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Vote and Balloting

Perfection of the democratic practice isenhanced because the process of conductingthe election itself has to follow certain

procedures For the general election, after the YDP Agong

dissolves Parliament at the request of thePrime Minister, the Election Commission (EC)

will issue the order to the Managing Officer toorganize the balloting process (election)


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The responsibility of the Managing Officer isto issue a statement, through the GovernmentGazette or newspaper, on the date of

nomination of candidates for the said election,the place and the time of election (forindividuals who wish to contest in theelection) for every electoral constituency

The EC also determines the date and place ofballoting


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The process of nominating the candidate isvery technical and the nomination can bedone in not less than ten days after its

announcement has been circulated According to the rules of an election, any

candidate who wishes to contest must obtaina nominator, a seconder and at least four

other people, whose names are recorded inthe nomination paper and they must be


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registered voters in that constituency

Every candidate has to put down a deposit,the sum of which varies, depending on

whether it is Parliamentary or State LegislativeAssembly constituency

The balloting day cn be after three weeks from

the date of nomination but cannot exceedeight weeks

On balloting day, all voters who qualify to vote


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can carry out their responsibility by castingtheir votes in balloting places provided

The time for balloting is determined by the

election management For a general election, every voter is given two

sheets of ballot papers of different colours;one for the State Legislative Assemblyconstituency and the other for theParliamentary constituency


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On each ballot paper are symbolsrepresenting the contesting candidates andthe space for the voter to make his choice (by

marking X) The ballot papers are put into separate ballot

boxes for the Parliamentary and the Stateconstituencies respectively

The voting formula is, One vote for onecandidate


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For those categorized as non-residing voters,

voting is done through the post by voting

earlier

This includes those who are overseas,

members of the security forces serving in the

interior and public office-bearers involved in

handling the election matters in areas outsidetheir balloting district


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Before the balloting day arrives, thecontesting parties are allowed to carry outelection campaigns through political talks

The freedom of speech and assembly duringthe campaigns also show the basic freedom asembodied in Article 10 of the Constitution areprotected

However, to ensure public security all politicaltalks whether by the party that hold the reins


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of government or the opposition, it isnecessary to get police approval or permit

A citizen (voter) who loves democracy will not

give up the opportunity to fulfill hisresponsibility in determining the futureleaders

Until today an election still constitutes thelegal method or way for the people to voicetheir wishes in designing the government


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State Legislative and Parliamentary

Members

Every Malaysian citizen ages 21 and above

qualifies to become a State Legislative

Assembly or member of Parliament except if

the person has lost his right to become amember according to the Constitution or any

law mentioned in Section 6 Schedule 8 for

State Legislative Assemblyman members andArticle 48 of the Constitution for

Parliamentary members


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The reasons may be:

1. If the person is found or is pronounced to benot of sound mind; or

2. If the person is a bankrupt and has yet to bereleased; or

3. If the person holds a salaried post; or

4. If the person fails to send his statement ofexpenses for the Parliamentary or Stateelection in which he was standing as an


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election candidate or representative within 33days after the announcement of the electionresults; or

5. If the person has been found guilty for acriminal offence by any court in theFederation and has been sentenced toimprisonment for not less than a year or fined

not less than two thousand Malaysian ringgitand has not received pardon; or


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6. If the person deliberately obtains foreign

citizenship or deliberately used foreign

citizenship or pledged allegiance to any

foreign country; or

7. If the person has been found guilty of an

offence related to elections

A member of the State Legislative Assembly orParliament cannot at the same time represent


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more than one electoral constituency

A peoples representative too, cannot be amember for both the Parliamentary

Assemblies (House of Representative and theSenate) or represent more than one electoraldistrict (Article 49 and Section 7 of the EightSchedule)

The total membership of both the StateLegislative Assembly and Parliament varies


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from state to state and this has to do with theissue of alignment of divisions or electoralconstituencies determined by the EC

authorities The members from parties that win with a

majority the electoral seats at the state levelwill form the State Government and are

among those who will be appointedsubsequently as members of the State


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Executive Council (Exco)

The Ruler/Sultan or Yang Dipertua Negeri of astate will appoint a Menteri Besar or Chief

Minister to head the government Meanwhile those from parties that win with a

majority at the Parliamentary level will formthe Federal Government and some amongthem will be appointed members of theCabinet


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The YDP Agong will appoint from among thema Prime Minister who will head the Cabinet

As the Federal Constitution provides for the

division between the central and stategovernments the Malaysian styled democraticrule does not prevent a state governmentfrom being ruled by a party different from that

of the central government

This makes the practice of the democratic


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system all the more distinctive

To protect the integrity of the democraticpractice the appointment of a candidate as a

member of DUN or peoples representative(member of Parliament) is through a formalceremony

Every one of them must pledged allegiance toMalaysia and the Constitution before he canbe addressed as Yang Berhormat


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(The Honourable) and takes his seat in theconference hall

For the State Legislative Assembly, the oath

taking ceremony is witnessed by theRuler/Sultan or the Yang Dipertua Negeri; forthe House of Representatives, it is witnessedby the YDP Agong

The oath taking process is a pledge by everyYang Berhormat to work to serve the


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interest of the members of society in his

constituency, that means he must place public

interest above their own

This is exactly the principle behind the

elections, that is, to choose the individual that

is deemed qualified to represent not just the

voters but also the entire community in anelectoral constituency


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Duration as Peoples Representative and

Member of the State Legislative Assembly

The duration in office of a representative ofthe people (member of Parliament) is until thedate Parliament is dissolved by the YDP

Agong, while for a member of the StateLegislative Assembly, it is until the StateLegislative Assembly is dissolved by theSultan/Ruler or the Yang Dipertua Negeri

However, a person can lose his designation asYang Berhormat if he is found guilty in


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relation to a number of matters mentionedearlier

A member of a house can voluntarily

withdraw by writing officially to the YangDipertua of the House of Representatives

Even though automatically discharged afterParliament is dissolved the person if chosenagain in an independent election, cancontinue to hold the post as long as the


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people need his service as theirrepresentative

But the most important determinant for a

person to become a representative of thepeople is the agreement to his candidature forcontest in a district by the party chief

This means that even if the person is popularamong the voters in the constituency, withoutthe blessing of the leadership, he cannot


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contest and must give way to another person,

unless he wants to contest under an

independent label

According to Article 52 of the Constitution, a

representative of the people can be stripped

off his post if he continuously absents himself

from meetings for six months without priorapproval from the House concerned


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As such the House can declare the seat for theconstituency vacant

According to Article 59 [2], the seat of a

representative can be declared vacant if hefails to present himself for six months fromthe date of the House begins to sit after theelection; and a by-election will be held

This provision is in fact for the purpose ofprotecting the principle of representative


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democracy as the representative after takinhis oath to hold the post means he is the onlylegal representative of the people at the

highest level His responsibility is to attend the meetings of

the House, to listen and to take part in thedebates, to pass the bills or participate in the

question and answer session when discussinga policy related to the interest of the people


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in his constituency

These provisions reinforce further the social

contract between the Representative of the

people and the people he represents

Senate Members

Parliament has two houses, the House of

Representatives which basically draws up the

bills and debate them, while the Senate is


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responsible for further debates and scrutinyon the bills that the House of Representativeshad passed

The members of the Senate, also known assenators, according to Article 45, are selectedand appointed by the YDP Agong

Members that are picked, represent thestates, two in each state are chosen by theState Legislative Assembly according to rules


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embodied in Schedule 7

For those who are appointed, theirappointment is by the YDP Agong

There are forty of them Two senators for the Federal Territory of K.

Lumpur and one for the Federal Territory of

Labuan are also appointed by the YDP Agong However, the number of senators is never

fixed because Parliament has the power to


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increase or reduce the number (Constitution,Article 45 [4]

Senators who are appointed consist of those

who have rendered excellent service in thepublic service or those who have beensuccessful in their respective professions incommerce, business, industry, agriculture, art

or social welfare

Senators also can be appointed from those


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who represent minority groups or people whocan represent the interests of the native tribesand their appointment is considered

important in the legislative context The vast experiences in their respective fields

can help the legislative body to refine relatedaspects and this definitely helps the executive

body in the administrative matters

This wide experience is reinforced with the


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condition that a person can be appointed as a

senator from the age of thirty and above

Duration in Office of a Senator

A senator can hold his post for three years,

even during the period Parliament is dissolved

However, the post cannot be held for more

than two terms, that is, not exceeding six

years whether continuously or intermittently


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For a person appointed to replace a Senatorwho has passed away or stopped, the periodof the post is the remainder of the term only

As a representative of the people, a senatorcan also resign from the post by writingofficially to the Yang Dipertua of the Senate

The role of a senator is also importantespecially in carefully going through the billsbefore their presentation to the YDP Agong


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for his assent as legal laws

Hence their involvement in the Senate

meetings is also important

If a senator is unable to attend the meetings

for more than six months he needs to get the

prior permission of the Senate, otherwis he

can be stripped off his post according toArticle 59 [2]


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The vacant position is then filled up within

sixty days from the date of the event

5. Parliamentary Democracy in Malaysia

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