President of Malaysia: who rules the country? State structure of Malaysia

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:39

There is no President in Malaysia. In fact, the Prime Minister performs the duties of the head of the executive branch. He is currently Mahathir Mohamad, who has been in office since 2018. In this article we will talk about the state structure of this country, its leader.

State of Malaysia

This is a country located in Southeast Asia. It consists of two parts, which are separated by the South China Sea. Malaysia has never had a president as it is a federal constitutional elective monarchy.

East Malaysia, traditionally called Sarawak or Sabah, is located in the north of the island of Kalimantan. It borders with Indonesia and Brunei, and by sea - with the Philippines.

Western Malaysia is located on the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. At sea it intersects with Indonesia and Singapore, and by land - with Thailand.

60% of local residents are Malays. They have privileges in the field of education, when doing business and applying to the stateservice.

State structure of Malaysia

This is a monarchy, which consists of 13 subjects of the Federation, which are called states, and three federal territories. Interestingly, only 9 states are monarchical, they are ruled by sultans or rajas. The remaining subjects are headed by governors who are appointed by the federal government.

Sultans and supreme rulers perform representative functions. At the same time, they approve any laws that are adopted in the country, as well as amendments to the Constitution.

The functions of state administration are performed by the cabinet of ministers and parliament. The latter consists of two chambers - the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Executive power is in the hands of the government, which is headed by the prime minister. In fact, he is the President of Malaysia in our understanding, as he also leads the executive branch.

The prime minister is a politician who is the leader of the party that won the election to the House of Representatives. At the same time, all ministers must also be members of parliament.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

So intricately sounds the title of the supreme elected monarch, who performs representative and ceremonial functions. At the same time, he is the supreme commander in chief, therefore, to some extent, he can be called the president of Malaysia.

The procedure for electing a monarch is detailed in the Constitution. Heads of subjects of the Federation apply for this position. ATthe current name of the president of Malaysia, if we are talking about the king, is Abdullah II. He took up this post on January 31, 2019.

Abdullah II is a native of the Sultanate of Pahang, he is 59 years old. He began leading his native state in 2016, when his elderly father was forced to retire for he alth reasons.

Assuming the post of king, he received the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Admiral of the Fleet and Field Marshal of the Malaysian Army.

In his country, he is also known as a sports functionary. Abdullah II is the head of the Asian Field Hockey Federation. This sport is very popular on this continent. For several years he led the football federation of his country. Resigned from this post in 2017.

The Malaysian football team, which never had stars from the sky, tried to qualify for the Asian Cup in 2015 under him. But she failed in the qualifying tournament, losing to the national teams of Bahrain and Qatar.

Speaking about who rules in Malaysia, it is necessary, first of all, to note this particular politician, although he is not directly related to the leadership of the executive authorities.

Position of Prime Minister

The prime minister is the head of ministries. He is the head of government, the representative of the highest executive power in the state. This position was established in 1963 with the formation of an independent state. The prime minister is not officially the head of state. This status belongs to the king of the country.

When asked to see a photo of the President of Malaysia,some mistakenly point to the prime minister. But it is difficult to understand whether these people are really wrong. In fact, there is no such position in the country. Therefore, it is not clear who should be considered the president in the usual sense for us.

In Malaysia, the position of prime minister is held by the head of the party that won the elections to the lower house of parliament. His office is located in the city of Putrajaya, which is the new administrative center of the country. Located 20 kilometers from the capital Kuala Lumpur, where the king is. The residence of the head of government has been here since 1999.

Mahathir Mohamad

The current Prime Minister Mohamad has already held this position for quite a long period of time - from 1981 to 2003. Now Mohamad is 93 years old, he returned to power. This is one of the most famous political centenarians in the world, whose career spans over 40 years.

In 1981, he came to power at the head of the UMNO party. One of his first decisions was an amnesty for political prisoners. After that, he began to strengthen the centralization of power in the country, which led to conflict with the leaders of individual states.

Economic policy was carried out in the style of "Thatcherism", public sector enterprises were privatized.

After winning the parliamentary elections in 1986, Mohamad began to suppress opposition in the country. Over a hundred people were arrested. In 1990, the Vision 2020 program was announced, and the powers of state leaders were significantlyreduced. Since 1995, the construction project of the Malay analogue of Silicon Valley has been developing, the Formula 1 track has appeared in the country.

Resigned in 2003.

Return to power

In 2018, Mohamad took part in the parliamentary elections from the Pact of Hope party.

Won a landslide victory in May 2018, becoming one of the oldest prime ministers on the planet. At the time of his election, he was 92 years old. Interestingly, he is also the oldest ruler in the entire history of mankind. It is not possible to set a record holder, since the exact dates of the life of many leaders of antiquity are unknown.

Considered the most positive politician in Malaysia, who has made the greatest contribution to its economic success and prosperity. Made the country one of the most successful in Southeast Asia.