5. parliamentary democracy in malaysia
TRANSCRIPT
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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