Dewan Negara

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Dewan Negara ( Mal. For Hall of the People ) denotes the Senate of the Malaysian Parliament . The Dewan Negara consists of 70 senators of which 26 are elected by the states, two from each state. The remaining 44 are appointed by Yang di-Pertuan Agong , the Malaysian king.

The Senate, first constituted in 1959, has its seat together with the Dewan Rakyat in the " Malaysian Houses of Parliament ", the parliament building in the capital Kuala Lumpur . Its composition is set out in Chapter 4 (Federal Legislature) and its functions in Chapter 5 (Legislative Process) of the Malaysian Constitution.

In the Malaysian bicameral system , a bill always requires the approval of both institutions before it is submitted to the king for final approval; however, the Dewan Negara can delay a bill for a maximum of one year before it is automatically forwarded to the king.

Originally the Dewan Negara was conceived as a controlling body of the Dewan Rakyat and was supposed to represent the interests of the federal states. The original constitution, which provided for the election of the majority of the senators by the states, has since been amended in favor of the appointment by the king.

Members of the Dewan Negara

Composition of the Dewan Negara
Barisan Nasional (BN): 56 seats
Pakatan Rakyat (PR): 8 seats
Vacant: 6 seats (as of April 21, 2011)

Members of the Dewan Negara are referred to as "Senator" and " Ahli Dewan Negara " (literally: "Member of the Dewan Negara"). The term of office is three years and senators can only be re-elected once, regardless of whether they are in two consecutive or non-contiguous terms.

Each of the 13 states sends two senators. The senators for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur , Labuan and Putrajaya are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the proposal of the Malaysian Prime Minister.

Another 40 senators, regardless of their state, are appointed by the king on the proposal of the prime minister. State-appointed senators should be qualified through "outstanding service in public administration or personal distinction in academic professions, commerce, industry, agriculture, the arts, or welfare, or by representing an ethnic minority or as a representative of the indigenous people ( Orang Asli ) " .

The intention of the original constitution of Malaysia to allow the king to appoint only 16 senators (and thereby assign these senators a minority role) was to strengthen the federal forces. However, later constitutional changes counteracted this; According to former Supreme Judge Tun Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim , these additions "went against the spirit of the original constitution, which envisaged the Dewan Negara as an institution to protect state interests from state interference in parliament."

Candidates for this office are Malaysian nationals residing within the Federation who are not obligated to any other state, have not served a prison term of one year or more, and have not been sentenced to RM 2,000 or more. Holders of a profit-oriented position in public administration are also unsuitable. Membership in a political party is not required. Parliament may increase the number of senatorial seats to three per state, reduce the number of appointed senators, or abolish the group of appointed senators altogether. The appointment procedure is set out in Article 45 of the Malaysian Constitution. According to the constitution, direct election of the 26 senators introduced by the states would also be possible, but this clause would only come into effect after parliament has passed a corresponding resolution. This has not yet happened; The senators appointed in 2010 were also determined by indirect election.

The Dewan Negara is not bound by the Dewan Rakyat elections and the Senators remain in office if the Dewan Rakyat is dissolved after the election.

The Dewan Negara elects a President, who chairs the meetings, monitors compliance with the house rules and decides on issues relating to the rules of procedure. Should the President be absent, his Deputy takes his place.

Powers

The Dewan Negara may initiate legislative processes; except for financial or tax matters - a restriction taken directly from the Westminster system. He may also change existing legislation, again provided that it is not a matter of finance. Any legislative proposal must first pass through the Dewan Rakyat and then be presented to the Dewan Negara in three readings. First, the proposing senator presents the plan to the assembly. Next the bill will be debated. In the third step, it is decided whether the draft is accepted or rejected. The Dewan Negara cannot simply formally reject a bill; if necessary, he can delay the proceedings for a month or, under certain circumstances, for up to a year. If the bill is passed or the deadline expires, it will be submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for royal approval. If the King objects or allows 30 days to pass without approval, the draft is sent back to Parliament with a list of proposed amendments. The draft law then has to be approved by both chambers. If the king still does not agree or if he allows the 30-day period to pass, the bill automatically becomes law. However, it does not come into force until it is published in the government gazette.

Although Members of Parliament are protected by their immunity, their securitized in accordance with paragraph 10 of the Malaysian Constitution freedom of speech is by the Sedition Act: (German law on sedition) Uncommitted debate ban restricted ( "gag rule"), the debate on the repeal of certain articles of Constitution prohibits that affect the privileging of the Bumiputeras (e.g. Article 153).

Current composition

Acting President of the Senate is Abu Zahar Ujang from UMNO . He was elected on April 26, 2010.

The current composition of the Dewan Negara, broken down by political party affiliation:

Affiliation Elected
by the state 		Appointed
by the king 		Total number of seats
Barisan Nasional : 18th 38 56
United Malays National Organization (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu, UMNO) 10 20th 30th
Malaysian Chinese Association (Persatuan Cina Malaysia, MCA) 5 5 10
Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongres India Se-Malaysia, MIC) 0 6th 6th
Malaysian People's Movement Party (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Gerakan) 0 2 2
United Traditional Bumiputera Party (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, PBB) 2 1 3
Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak, SUPP) 0 1 1
Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (Parti Demokratie Progresif Sarawak, SPDP) 0 1 1
Sarawak People's Party (Parti Rakyat Sarawak, PRS) 0 1 1
United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization
(Pertubuhan Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Bersatu, UPKO) 		1 0 1
People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia, PPP) 0 1 1
Pakatan Rakyat : 8th 0 8th
People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat, PKR) 3 0 3
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (Parti Islam SeMalaysia, PAS) 3 0 3
Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratie, DAP) 2 0 2
total 26th 38 64

Six seats in the Dewan Negara are currently vacant.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Shuid, Mahdi & Yunus, Mohd. Fauzi: Malaysian Studies , p. 33. Longman, 2001. ISBN 983-74-2024-3 .
  2. ↑ a b Henderson, John William, Vreeland, Nena, Dana, Glenn B., Hurwitz, Geoffrey B., Just, Peter, Moeller, Philip W. & Shinn, RS (1977). Area Handbook for Malaysia , p. 217. American University, Washington DC, Foreign Area Studies. LCCN 771294.
  3. ^ Wu, Min Aun & Hickling, RH (2003). Hickling's Malaysian Public Law , pp. 26-27. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia. ISBN 983-74-2518-0 .
  4. ↑ Rachagan, S. Sothi (1993). Law and the Electoral Process in Malaysia , p. 8, Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press. ISBN 967-9940-45-4 .
  5. ^ "President" . Retrieved February 15, 2006.
  6. ^ "Deputy President" . Retrieved February 15, 2006.
  7. ↑ Shuid & Yunus, p. 34.
  8. ^ Means, Gordon P. (1991). Malaysian Politics: The Second Generation , pp. 14, 15. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-588988-6 .
  9. ↑ Senarai Ahli Dewan Negara ( Malay ) Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  10. ↑ Statistics Dewan Negara ( Malay ) Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved April 21, 2011.