Assignment Malaysian Studies

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction.......................................................................................................................1

1.1 Overview.................................................................................................................1

1.2 Objectives and Scope of Discussion.......................................................................2

2.0 The Malaysian Election Process.......................................................................................3

2.1 The System - FPTP.................................................................................................3

2.2 The Law of Elections..............................................................................................4

2.3 Types of Election....................................................................................................4

2.4 Additional Elements................................................................................................6

3.0 Role of the Election Commission.....................................................................................8

3.1 Regulating Elections...............................................................................................8

3.2 Reviewing Seat Boundaries....................................................................................8

3.3 Carrying Voters Registrations.................................................................................9

4.0 Application of Major Elements in the Election..............................................................10

4.1 Process...................................................................................................................10

4.2 Candidates.............................................................................................................12

4.3 Electoral................................................................................................................12

5.0 Summary.........................................................................................................................13

BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................14

MPW1133/2133 MALAYSIAN STUDIES

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Overview

Malaysia practices a federal parliamentary democratic system with a constitutional

monarchy, headed by Yang diPertuan Agong as the King. Malaysia practices

democracy which is a doctrine where the government in which the policy is decided

by the preference of the majority in a decision-making process, that is elections. In a

demographic country, there is a demos – a group which makes political decisions by

some form of collective procedures. In modern democracy, the nation is the demos

and citizenship is indicative of membership. A democratic country is also territory

where the decision applies. It is also a place where the demos are resident. The

territory in modern democracy is called the nation-state. In a democratic country also,

there is a decision-making procedure which can be direct such as referendum or

indirect such as election of a parliament.

Election is a general political process in any democratic countries. In Malaysia,

election is held to elect representatives to Federal Parliament and State Assemblies.

The main body that oversees the processes of election is the Election Commission

(EC). This body is formed under Article 114 of the Federal Constitutions of Malaysia.

Election in the practice of democracy constitutes a social contract between the people

and the candidate or party that succeeds to become the government. When a majority

of voters opted for a particular party, this means that the voters have certain

expectations from the candidate. The party that wins the election forms the

government and it is their role to realize the promises and manifesto they pledged to

the voters in their election campaign.

The Constitution of Malaysia provides for the establishment of an Election

Commission which duty is to conduct elections to the House of Representatives and

the Legislative Assemblies in all thirteen states of Malaysia, as well as to prepare and

revise electoral roll for such elections. The Election Commission is also empowered

by the Constitution to review the division of the Federation and the States into

constituencies and recommend such changes as they think necessary in order to

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comply with the provisions stipulated in the Thirteenth Schedule of the Constitution.

The reviews of the constituencies for the Legislative Assemblies are undertaken at the

same time as the review of the constituencies for the House of Representatives once

every eight years. The principles and procedures of the delimitation of the

constituencies is based in the Thirteenth Schedule.

1.2 Objectives and Scope of Discussion

This paper is an elaborate discussion about the election system in Malaysia. The focus

of discussion covers the process of election, the roles of the Election Commission and

the elements related to the election process. The specific objectives of the assignment

are:

1. To provide an elaborate description about the election process in Malaysia;

2. To provide an elaborate description about the role of the Election Commission;

and

3. To discuss how the election process in Malaysia is done.

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2.0 The Malaysian Election Process

2.1 The System - FPTP

Malaysia’s election system follows the First Past the Post (FPTP) system whereby

candidates can be from parties or they can be independent candidates. Voters vote for

one candidate only, and the candidate with the highest number of votes wins the seat.

The winner does not have to win more than half the votes, meaning that the First Past

the Post is a plurality system. Other countries practicing this system are Canada,

United Kingdom, USA, Yemen and Bangladesh.

FPTP is a plurality or majority electoral system which is characterized by its

simplicity and the tendency to produce representative beholden to defined geographic

areas. FPTP provides a clear cut choice for voters between two main parties.

However, faced by third and fragmented minority parties under FPTP, the party

system may gravitate towards a party of the “left” and a party of the “right”,

alternating in power. Third parties often wither away, and almost never reach a

threshold of popular support where their national vote achieves a comparable

percentage of seats in the legislature. It gives rise to single party governments. The

“seat bonuses” for the largest party common under FPTP (i.e., where one party wins,

for example, 45% of the national vote but 55% of the seats) means that coalition

governments are the exception rather than the rule.

FPTP provides a coherent opposition in the legislature. With a strong single-

party government, the opposition is also given enough seats to perform a critical

checking role, and present itself as a realistic alternative to the government of the day.

Thus, in current Malaysia’s political scenario, the strong single-party

government belongs to the National Front or Barisan Nasional (BN) comprising of

small party member of which UMNO (United Malay National Organization) holds the

majority.

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2.2 The Law of Elections

The law of elections in Malaysia is governed by three main Acts – Act 19 Election

Act 1958, Act 31 Election Commission Act 1957, and Act 5, Election Offences Act

1954. The main authority responsible for enforcing election laws is the Election

Commission, which has autonomy in overseeing the conduct of elections.

Political parties are governed under the Societies Act 1966. The Registrar of

Societies (ROS) is a body under the Ministry of Home Affairs may refuse the

registration of a political party if the application is deemed to be “used for unlawful

purposes or any purpose prejudicial to or incompatible with peace, welfare, security,

public order, good order or morality in Malaysia.” All political parties must register

with ROS. Party elections are conducted based on their party constitutions and the

Societies Act 1966.

The basic rules of the electoral system were formulated prior to independence

for the first federal election in the Federation of Malaya in 1955. These rules, together

with important additions and changes, were incorporated into the constitution adopted

at independence in 1957. Important amendments were made to the electoral system

both before and after the 1963 formation of the expanded Federation of Malaysia.

2.3 Types of Election

There are two levels of election in Malaysia – the national and state level. The

national level election is held to determine membership in the Dewan Rakyat (House

of Representatives) and the lower house of Parliament. The state level elections are

held to determine membership in various State Legislative Assemblies.

At the national level, voters participate in elections to elect 222-member

House of Representatives of the bicameral Parliament practiced in Malaysia.

Members are elected from single-member constituencies whom are selected based on

the First past the post system. The party with majority of the House of

Representatives forms the federal government. In Malaysia, the general election is

held at least once every five years as stipulated in the Constitution of Malaysia. The

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Prime Minister may ask the Yang diPertuan Agong to dissolve the Parliament at any

time before the five year period expired. The general election takes a period to

complete at less than two months in West Malaysia and three months in Sabah and

Sarawak after dissolution of the Parliament. Over the years, the predominant winner

of the parliamentary election has always been the National Front which has 14

member parties.

The state level election is held to elect representative to the State Legislative

Assembly. The number of representatives in different states may vary with as many as

71 electorates in Sarawak and 15 in Perlis. Members are also elected from single-

member constituencies selected based on the FPTP system. The party that forms the

majority of the state assembly will form the state government. Most of the time, state

elections are held together with the parliamentary election but each state can decide

when to hold its election. This is because the assemblies at state levels are under the

purview of the respective state ruler or governor on the advice of the state chief

minister.

In the 1999 general election, the state elections of the 11 states on Peninsular

Malaysia was held simultaneously with the Parliamentary election but the state

elections in Sabah and Sarawak were held at different dates. However, in the 2004

and 2008 general elections, the state election in Sabah was held at the same time as

the parliamentary election although in Sarawak, it was held in 2006 and 2011.

Besides the national and state level elections, there are also local government

elections. However, the local government elections were suspended after the

Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and the suspension was never lifted and instead,

made permanent under the Local Government Act 1976. Since then, the appointment

of the local government members is a matter with the state government. There are

however, some voices from several angles, requesting for a revival of the local

government election.

Another type of election is called the by-election. This is held in the respective

constituency when a member of the Parliament of state assembly dies, resigns or is

disqualified from holding a seat. The condition for by-election us that the vacancy

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happens during the first two years after the general election have elected the current

Parliament or state assembly. Otherwise, the seat is left vacant until the next general

election.

2.4 Additional Elements

The Federation of Malaysia consists of 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia (i.e. the

former Federation of Malaya, which gained independence from the British in 1957)

and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, which joined the Federation of

Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Besides being federal, the form of

government is constitutional, monarchical and parliamentary at both the state and

federal levels. Each of the 13 states and the Federation has a written constitution. The

Federal Constitution allocates nearly all important powers as well as the major

sources of revenue to the federal government.

The Federation’s King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) is elected for a term of five

years by, and rotated among, the hereditary royal rulers of nine of the 11 states in

Peninsular Malaysia. The other four states without royal rulers are each headed by a

head of state (Yang di-Pertua Negeri) appointed for four years by the Yang the state.

The rulers and the state heads comprise the Conference of Rulers. Each of the 13

states has a unicameral State Legislative Assembly (Dewan Undangan Negeri), while

the federal parliament has two houses, namely the Senate (Dewan Negara) and the

House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat). Only the latter is directly elected and is

hereafter referred to when the term ‘parliament’ is used in an electoral context. Unless

dissolved sooner, the parliament, or a state legislature, has a term of five years:

elections are thus held for parliament and the state legislatures at intervals not

exceeding five years. As in all parliamentary systems, the leader of the political party

or coalition with a majority of seats in parliament or a state legislative assembly

would be appointed by the titular head to form the government.

So far, there has been 12 general elections held in Malaysia and the anticipated

13th general election is to be held this year.

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Table 1: List of General Elections in Malaysia

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3.0 Role of the Election Commission

The Election Commission of Malaysia was set up with the purpose of regulating and

conducting elections in Malaysia. Its establishment is mandated by Article 114 of the

Constitution of Malaysia. This body falls under the purview of the Prime Minister’s

Department. There are three main functions of the Election Commission:

1. To carry out general elections for House of Representatives and State Legislative

Assembly, and to run by-election when vacancy occurs;

2. To make research and review boundaries of parliamentary and state constituencies of

not less than once every eight years of the previous realigning of boundaries; and

3. To carry out the voters registration and reviews of voters list.

3.1 Regulating Elections

The policy of the Election Commission is to upheld, monitor and to maintain the

process of democracy in the country through a free and just election. It is the role of

the Commission to ensure that the people can vote their representative through direct

voting in each election. Under Article 114, the Commission is empowered to hold a

general election on the House of Representatives and the State Legislative Assembly,

and to hold by-elections when a vacancy occurs.

3.2 Reviewing Seat Boundaries

The Election Commission is also empowered to align the boundaries again after

making research on the election constituencies once every eight years. It is to be

understood that the first responsibility is important because it is related to the increase

in population and the development of settlements or the growth of small towns in a

constituency.

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3.3 Carrying Voters Registrations

The Election Commission is also responsible for the registration of new voters and

managing the voters already registered. It also collects information on newly

developed areas to ensure a fair representation of voters in each constituency,

promotes awareness on how important it is to vote and revises the electoral roll by

deleting the names of those who are dead or have been disqualified. On polling day,

EC members and officers will be stationed at polling centres nationwide to oversee

the process.

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4.0 Application of Major Elements in the Election

4.1 Process

The elections are supervised by a seven-member politically Election Commission who

are appointed by the Yang diPertuan Agong following the advice of the Prime

Minister. The election process starts with nomination. Normally, nomination centres

are set up in various locations by the Election Commission to allow candidates to

register themselves.

The next stage is campaigning whereby the period for campaigning allowed by

the law runs from the date of the nomination day until polling day. On Election Day,

the registered voters may cast their ballot for their chosen candidate in designated

voting centres which could be schools or community centres. All activities in the

school are suspended for that day. During Election Day, public holiday is declared

when the polling day is held during weekdays to ensure maximum turnout. During

polling day, certain political parties may provide transportation to voters to and from

the voting centre. Campaigning and advocacy for candidates are not allowed within

the voting centre.

Only registered voters may vote in elections. Any Malaysian citizens above 21

years old must register in the voters' registry with the Election Commission via any

offices affiliated with the Election Commission, post offices with computerised

facilities or specified counters, before he or she could vote in elections. After the

voting is closed, the election agents check the ballot boxes for counting. The counting

is monitored to ensure that the total ballots are the same as the number of votes cast.

Counting is done manually. After the count at the voting centre is done, the boxes are

transported to the counting centre for a second count. If all candidates agree to the

count then it stands or else an immediate re-count is done at the counting centre. The

result of the election is announced through live broadcasts by radio and television

stations.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_office


The process of election in Malaysia can be seen from the following diagram in

Figure 1.

Figure 1: Process in Election

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4.2 Candidates

Any Malaysian citizen may register as a candidate as long as they are not disqualified.

He or she does so by filing the appropriate forms and placing a monetary deposit. The

deposit was RM5000 to contest a parliamentary seat, or RM3000 to contest a state

assembly seat. This amount was changed to RM 10,000 and RM 5,000 respectively in

2004. Additionally in 2004 it was required that each candidate provide a RM 5,000

deposit for cleaning up banners and posters after the election. This increase is seen by

some as having led to the government winning a record number of seats without

contest in 2004 (17 parliamentary seats were won without contest). The deposit is

used to pay for infringements of election laws and is returned after polling day unless

the candidate loses and fails to garner more than 1/8 of the vote.

4.3 Electoral

An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election to a post, usually

in proportional election systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political

party or can constitute a group of independent candidates. Lists can be open, in which

case electors have some influence over the order in which candidates within the list

are placed, or closed, in which case the order of candidates within the list is fixed and

voters effectively simply nominate their preferred party.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_list

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_list

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party-list_proportional_representation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party-list_proportional_representation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation


5.0 Summary

This paper provides substantive information about election and the role of the Malaysian

Election Commission to manage the election process in Malaysia. Ever since independence,

Malaysia has undergone twelve general elections and numerous by-elections. The upcoming

election in this year is the culmination of years of experiences by the Election Commission to

ensure that the people are given their rights to vote for their candidates in a free and just

manner.

[2,800 words]

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rashid Rahman, A. (1994). The Conduct of Elections in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing Sdn. Bhd

Harding, A. (1996). Law, Government and the Constitution in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Malayan Law Journal Sdn Bhd

Lim, H.H. (2001). ‘Public Administration in Malaysia: The Effects of Executive Dominance’, in Loh and Khoo, 2001.

Lim, K.S. (1986). ‘1984 Delineation of Electoral Constituencies’, in Malaysia: Crisis of Identity. Petaling Jaya: Democratic Action Party.

Loh, K.W. (1999). ‘The Sabah State Elections 1999’, Aliran Monthly, April.

Loh, K.W. and Khoo B.T., eds. (2001). Democracy in Malaysia: Discourses and Practices. London: Curzon.

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Assignment Malaysian Studies