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Country Profile:

Malaysia

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: Sultan Abdul HALIM Mu'adzam Shah
  • Head of Government: Prime Minister NAJIB bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak
  • Assembly: Malaysia has a bicameral Parliament (Parlimen 马来西亚国会) consisting of the Senate (Dewan Negara) with 70 seats and the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) with 222 seats.

Description of electoral system:

  • The Sultan is elected by hereditary state rulers to serve a 5-year term.
  • The Prime Minister is designated by parliament.
  • In the Senate (Dewan Negara), 44 members are appointed by the monarch to serve 3-year terms and 26 members are elected by the state legislatures to serve 3-year terms*. In the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) 222 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

* 44 seats appointed by paramount ruler, 26 elected by 13 state legislatures

Population:

  • Population: 28,728,607 (July 2011 )

Past elections

Last Updated on 01/10/2012

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