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8/3/2019 The Separation of Power and the Parliament
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The separation of power
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The Separation of Power and the parliament, executive and judiciary
1.0 The separation of power
The concept of division of power (also known as the concept of separation of powers)
starting since the time of old Greece. Aristotle was interested in the government coalition
composed monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, in view of each element is itself not able to
conduct operations on their own Governments, but a mixture of all three elements take the
best aspects of each element. In 1656 James Harrington in his Oceana, has been updated and
proposed the idea of this concept. John Locke, in "Civil Government, second treatise" in
1690, has divided the state into two of the executive and legislative. Meanwhile, Montesquieu
in his "Spirit of the Laws" has developed the idea of Locke, by increasing the judicial branch.
English is said to create the actual method of division is more formal, which they call the
"Government Instrumen".
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias
politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. Under this model, the state is
divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility
so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of
branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. For similar reasons, the concept of
separation of church and state has been adopted in a number of countries, to varying degrees
depending on the applicable legal structures and prevalent views toward the proper role of
religion in society. The branches have different roles but interdependent with the other
branches. For example, judges are appointed by the chief executive, while the law stemming
from the legislative branch will be used by the judiciary to decide, while the executive is to
enforce the law.
This doctrine is also considerably strengthened by the check and balance the elements
every body has limited authority and may examine and limit the powers of the body. Thus, a
judge appointed by the Chief Executive although may sentence the law to the chief executive
because the judiciary has judicial independence and judges are protected by judicial
immunity. If this element is missing, then the division of powers than name only. The
doctrine is very clear division of powers in the United States. There is every body to check
abuses of power mutually to each other. In fact, every body has an element of checks and their
equilibrium.
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1.1 The Executive
Executive also referred to the Government or the Government in Parliament and
referred to the Administration in the system for example in the United States Congress. This
body is responsible for implementing the law passed by the legislature. The chief executive in
a country called the Republic President, while other countries are called the prime minister.
This body comprises many sectors of government such as the various ministries, departments,
local governments and government agencies such as police organizations, military and
customs.
The executive is the oldest of all organs of government. The executive organ
existed even five thousand years ago. There was no separate legislature or judiciary in ancient
time. All power was integrated into one hand. Today the executive possesses great power and
authority in any political system. The executive branch of government has remained at the
centre of power of the government since groups began to form governments in society.
Who are the Executive?
In every political system the highest executive power remains in the hands of single
individual or small elite. The composition of an executive is wide and it refers to the whole
branch of the political system being in charge of the execution of the policies of the state,
and being in charge of the determination of the general rules. In most countries executives are
the top administration in any government offices. That means all government officials except
those acting in legislative and judicial capacity. In this sense, it not only includes heads of
government but also the entire staff of officials, high and low, connected with the
administration of public affairs of the state. They are also known as civil servants.
Political executive are either elected for a certain number of years as the U.S.
President or remains in office as long as the party in which they belong can command
majority in legislature as in Malaysia. The primary responsibility of the executive is to see
that laws are properly enforced. In fact, both the two groups those who see that the laws areproperly enforced and those who actually enforce them are really the two integral parts of the
same machinery, which constitute the executive department.
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Functions of the Executive
The modern state is complex. Every state has to perform many functions to meet the
needs of its citizen. The most fundamental functions of the executive are those which related
to the essential activities of daily administration. The state is now regarded as a means for
achieving the welfare of its own people. The executive department performs the main
functions of the state.
1. Internal Administration.
The foremost duty of the executive department is to ensure law and order in society. It
must maintain internal peace and security. For this the executive relies on a huge
number of civil servants and police officials. The executives formulate the policies and
once those policies are approved by legislature, it is the responsibility of the executive
to implement those principles.
In all political systems public policy is the result of whatever executes want to do.
Increasing or decreasing taxes, reducing or increasing defence budget, giving foreign
aids to developing countries, funding for research and the like are all examples of
public policies. After the adoption of the policies the executive oversees their
implementation. The different departments and agencies are entrusted with specific
responsibilities and every department executes the laws of the country which fall
under its jurisdiction.
The top executive coordinates the activities of various departments and agencies. The
top executive appoints secretaries and other top officials to head various departments.
In the USA, secretaries are appointed by the president. In Malaysia, Canada and UK,
the top secretaries are appointed by the Prime Minister who is the Real Chief
Executive. The top executive defends the public policies through their speeches on
radio and television, and in statements in press conferences and newspapers.
2. External Administration
All states are independent, but every state is interrelated with other states. The
executive is responsible for ensuring mutual interaction among states for peace and
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security. The executive responsibility lies in the Ministry of Foreign or External
Affairs. The conduct of foreign relations includes the following:
a) Sending and receiving diplomatsb) Recognizing a new statec) Establishing or withdrawing diplomatic relations.d) Determining and implementing foreign policye) Negotiating treaties and agreements.
3. Military FunctionsOne of the essential responsibilities of the executive is to secure territorial integrity of
the state and to protect the country from external aggression, and if necessary, to wage
war. The top executive is the Chief of staff in every country of the world. However,
the actual power is exercised by a Department under its control, called the Department
of Defence and War, which determines the strength and organization of the armed
forces of the country.
During the war, the power of the executive increases immensely because the executive
may take any action necessary to safeguard the security of the country. The executive
may summon the army to protect the interests of the nation.
4. Legislative FunctionsThe executive sometime performs some legislative functions. It summons, adjourns
and prorogues the session of its legislature. It promulgates orders and ordinances. It is
a sort of subsidiary power of legislation which takes the form of decrees. The
Increased range of activities of the state has forced parliaments during recent years to
delegated wide legislative power to the executive. This is called Delegated Legislation.
This is quite inescapable in the modern state and it has significantly added to the
powers of the executive.
5. Judicial Functions.
The executive often discharges some judicial functions. Usually in most governments
the executive is required to keep an eye on the administration of courts and to
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guarantee its citizen fairness and impartiality in justice. Therefore, the head of
executive appoints the judges in most countries. Besides appointing judges, the
executives have two important judicial powers: granting pardons and granting
amnesty.
The most important judicial power of the executive is the power of granting pardon to
a convicted person. The king of Malaysia has this power. This also prevents possible
judicial malpractice. Another power of the executive in judicial matters is to grant
amnesty to a group of persons, usually political offenders.
6. Other Functions
The above functions are regarded as essential functions. In addition to these, the
executive performs other functions. First, the various department and agencies offer
services and licensing functions to the people. The departments of commerce,
education, agriculture, transport and communications offer public utility services and
impose statutory restrictions on the production and sale of various commodities.
Secondly, the top executive is the symbol of unity in the country. The King of
Malaysia is above party politics. They foster both unity and continuity within a state.
They are living symbols of the nation and acts for the country independently.
Thirdly, the political executive head is at the centre of the functional leadership in all
political systems. Every nations success depends on the high quality and competence
of this leadership. The political executive must effectively lead the state and the
people. The scope of the executive has increased so much. The annual thousands of
Rules and Orders, the detailed and present plan of activity of all modern states, reveal
how the state concentrates upon each individual and weaves his very impulse into the
myriad threaded wrap of its existence. The state is everywhere, it leaves hardly a gap
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1.2 The Judiciary
Thorough with the development of legal system, the judicial system has developed as well in
all countries all over the world. Laws are implemented by means of judicial system, which is
operated via courts system. The court system is different from country to country. However,
regardless their disparities, there are certain well-accepted principles of court organization
which are recognized by all countries (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83).
The first similarity shared by the courts around the world is the range of the courts.
Courts all over the world are leveled on an ascending scale, means that one above another.
The right to appeal is fixed from the lower to the higher courts. The initial trial starts at Courts
of Original Jurisdiction. Here, the court has power to hear a case for the first time. Facts and
laws are judged and considered here. The plaintiff and the prosecution will submit the
evidence as to support their contentions and this is considered as the facts of the case. After
the evidence of both sides has decided, their respective lawyers will present the arguments
and later the court will make the decision (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83).
However, if either parties or one party is not satisfied, they have the right to appeal to
the Courts of Appeal (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83). The Court of Appeal has the right to
hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. Besides, it is functioning to ensure that
the law is being interpreted in substantially ways and to reverse decisions that seem to be
based on an incorrect law interpretation. It will also scrutinize the law whether the law isapplied correctly or vice versa. The final court in common court system is the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court carries the powers of revision or termination as well as the power to annul
the decision made by a court or judicial tribunal (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83).
The Functions of Judiciary
The main purpose of the courts and judiciary is to ensure justices and make decision of
disputes between individuals, citizens and the states. The primary function of the judiciary is
to establish and determine facts (Moten & Serajul, 2004, p. 200) of cases. A case is remainvague before bringing to the court. This is the court's responsibility to find out and verify the
facts in order to figure out the truth. The conflicting parties will bring forward witnesses as to
generate evidences in order to support both the contentions of both parties. The witnesses can
be in the form of writing, orally or both. The judge of the respective court will hear to those
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witnesses and he will weigh the testimony. Finally, based on the evidences by witnesses, the
court determines the facts (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 85).
The second function of the court is, to interpret the laws. The judiciary is responsible
to interpret laws and apply law to the facts that have been drawn from investigation and then
render decisions. The judge's task is to accept the relevant law to the case as it is, and apply it
to the determined facts. Thus, the judge is called as the interpreter of law (Serajul & Moten,
2005, p. 85).
Upholding the constitution is another function of judiciary. Judiciary is the custodian
of constitution. The court interprets the constitution and neither the national government nor
the state government can pass a law that is not inline to the constitution. The court offers
judgment in the case of disputes between central and regional government as well as between
the executive and legislature. Judiciary will not let other parties to violate the constitution.
(Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 86).
The court is also functioning in preventing the infraction of law and violation of
human right. Common citizens can ask the court for it favors to protect them before the actual
violation occurs. Citizens can appeal to the court if they believe that such attempts will violate
their rights. The court has the power to issue orders (restraining orders) prohibiting such
attempts until the rights of the citizens are determined. (Serajul & Moten, 2004, p. 202).
The final and most important function of the court is judicial review. Judicial review
means that the court has the power to declare any acts of executive or legislature as null and
invalid if they are breaking or be in conflicting with constitution. Judicial review is a means
for securing the supremacy and fundamental quality of the constitution. It has been adopted
first by the United States of America to be practiced in several courts in that Uncle Sam
country. (Serajul & Moten, 2004, p. 202).
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Judicial Power and Separation of Power
The freedom to exercise power by the judicial body can be seen from its separation of
power from the other bodies of government, which are the executive and the legislative. The
judicial power will not for either executive or legislative and it is very independent. There are
three main functions of these three bodies and each of their function is separated from the
other. The legislative has the power to make laws. The executive in the other hand has the
power to enforce and police the laws. Yet, the judicial body has the power to expound and
apply the laws as well as to interpret the laws. This is what we called as the separation of
powers between the government bodies. Besides the separation of powers, there is another
term, which is the fusion of powers. The fusion of powers is opposite to the separation of
powers where the separated bodies will exercise the power of other bodies in certain cases.
For example, the executive might make laws; a particular law since the executive and its
administrators are more closes to public and they know what laws should be imposed on the
public.
Check and Balance
Check and balance means that a system that allows each branch of a government to
amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one of the branch from exerting too
much power as well as abuses of power. The judicial power has the right to check and balance
the power of the executive and the legislative.
The judicial power can check over the executive and legislative power through the
using of judicial review and judicial interpretation. By judicial review, the judicial power can
check over the executive and legislative actions, whether such actions are violating the
constitution or not. Besides, the judicial review may decide whether the laws made by the
legislative are constitutional or unconstitutional. Judicial interpretation is the checked by the
judicial power over the executive as to determine the validity and meaning of executive
agency regulations. Meanwhile the judicial interpretation is checked over the legislative as to
ensure what congressional laws mean and how they are applied in specific cases.
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Does Judicial Power in Malaysia is separated?
Governmental system either parliamentary or presidential system are basically adopted
the separation of powers. In the case of Malaysia that running of parliamentary system, the
term separation of powers is used frequently as to show that the three bodies of government
are in total separation. Yet, frankly speaking, in terms of judicial system in Malaysia, the
power of judiciary is not really separated and independent.
As mentioned earlier, besides separation of powers, there is the fusion of powers, and
in Malaysia, it does adopted fusion of powers in certain circumstances. It means, when there
is fusion of powers, automatically the powers among three bodies are shared. For example,
executives in Malaysian cabinet are also holding legislative position in the parliament. It is
clearly shown that in Malaysia, the separation of powers among three important government
bodies is still ambiguous.
The judicial is not an independence body of government nor separated. Historically,
the judicial power before the constitutional crisis 1988 was an independent branch of
government. Yet, after 1988, the judiciary was made subject to Parliament by surrendering
judicial powers to Parliament. The crisis started when the High Court approved Karpal
Singh's application to be released from Operasi Lalang detention due to the technicalities in
the way he had been detained. A week after, Mahathir (The 4th
Prime Minister) submitted
several constitutional amendments to the Parliament, denying the courts of the "judicial powerof the Federation" and giving them only the judicial powers that Parliament might agree upon.
Later, many conflicts came in until it brought to the suspension of Tun Salleh Abas, the Lord
President of the Supreme Court. With the suspension of Tun Salleh Abas, the amendments to
divest the courts of the "judicial power of the Federation" and the judicial power is granted by
the parliament was continued.
Thus, up until today, the judicial power is not so called independent. Nevertheless, the
Attorney-General was conferred by the power to instruct the courts on what cases to hear,
where they would be heard, and whether to discontinue a particular case.
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1.3 The Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and
repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition
to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and
adopt the budget and other money bills. Legislatures are known by many names, the most
common being parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific
meanings.
In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and
appoints a member from its house as the prime minister which acts as the executive. In
a presidential system, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature is
considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both
the judiciary and the executive.
The primary components of a legislature are one or more chambers orhouses:
assemblies that debate and vote upon bills. A legislature with only one house is
called unicameral. A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually
described as an upper house and a lower house, which often differ in duties, powers, and the
methods used for the selection of members. Much rarer have been tri cameral legislatures;
the Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example
existed in the waning years of caucasian-minority rule in South Africa.
In most parliamentary systems, the lower house is the more powerful house while the
upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However, in presidential systems, the
powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In federations, it is typical for the upper
house to represent the component states; the same applies to the supranational legislature of
the European Union. For this purpose, the upper house may either contain the delegates of
state governments, as is the case in the European Union and in Germany and was the case in
the United States before 1913, or be elected according to a formula that grants equal
representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the modern
United States.
Because members of legislatures usually sit together in a specific room to deliberate,
seats in that room may be assigned exclusively to members of the legislature. In parliamentary
language, the termseatis sometimes used to mean that someone is a member of a legislature.
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For example, saying that a legislature has 100 "seats" means that there are 100
members of the legislature, and saying that someone is "contesting a seat" means they are
trying to get elected as a member of the legislature. By extension, the termseatis often used
in less formal contexts to refer to an electoral district itself, as for example in the phrases "safe
seat" and "marginal seat".
Functions of the legislature:
1. Law-MakingThe main function of legislature is to make laws or to amend or replace old laws. In most
modern systems laws are introduced in the form of bill by minister or a member of the
legislature. However, discusses and debates the bill which goes through several readings
and committee stages before becoming a law.
2.RepresentationGenerally, the legislature in all democratic countries is considered to be the main forum of
public opinion. The legislature represents the people in the government. Representation
means making present of something absent but not making it literally present. It must be
made present indirectly, through an intermediary; it must be made present in some sense,
while nevertheless remaining literally absent. This is exactly what a legislature are the
representatives of the public. They represent and ventilate the grievances of the people.
3.Supervision
The gradual increase in the power and authority of the executive has led the legislature to
extend its authority of checking and supervising the executive branch of government. In a
modern democratic system legislature keeps a sharp and critical eye on the administration.
It may be true that legislation is initiated by the executive, but the legislature has the
potential power to reject the bill. More importantly, even if it passes the bill, the legislature
has the power to monitor the activities of the government to make sure that the law is
implemented correctly and effectively.
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4.FinancialThe legislature also performs certain financial functions. The fact of representative
democracy is the control and regulation of national finances by the legislature. Generally,
it is recognized today in all countries that no taxes should be levied or expenditure
authorized without the approval of the representative of the people. The sources of income
and heads of expenditure of the government are controlled and determined by the
legislature.
The principal financial function of a legislature is the presentation, consideration and
authorization of the budget. In every system the budget needs the approval of the
legislature.
5.Electoral
The legislature acts as an electoral college to elect the top executive. For example, the
Head of State. In India, the elected members of both houses of parliament form an electoral
college for electing the president of the nation.
6.Judicial
The legislature in many countries performs certain judicial functions. Some legislature has
the power to adjudicate the behaviour of administrative officials. In Canada and Malaysia,
Parliament does not impeach the King or ministers because it has the power of defeating a
government by a vote of no-confidence or by removing a Minister from the cabinet who
has been found guilty of a crime.
7. Inquest and interpellation.The legislature sometimes works as the organ of inquest. It make inquiries into matters of
general interest. It often appoints commissions of inquiry relating to agriculture and
industry or to find out the causes of social number
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8.Amending the constitution.In some countries, the legislature plays the most important role in making and amending
the constitution. The legislature is given this authority because it is consider being the
legitimate representative institution of the people and also the original was drafted by the
legislature. Legislature is usually involved in three types of methods of amending
constitutions. One is by the direct vote of the legislature alone. In some countries it
requires unanimous approval and in some certain specific legislative, the majority is
necessary.
The second method involves an amendment proposal by the legislature, followed by the
ratification by a constitutional convention. The third method involves a proposal by the
legislature, followed by the ratification of state. In Malaysia, Canada, Britain, India and the
USA and in many other countries the amending process must start in the legislature. The
approval of amendment depends on the support of certain number of members of the
legislature which differs from country to country.
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The Parliament of Malaysia
Malaysia Practices Parliamentary Democracy with a Constitutional Monarchy. Our
Parliamentary Democratic System Comprises of Three Main Branches which is Legislative,
Executive, Judiciary Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the country. Parliament
is made up of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat.
1. The Yang Di-Pertuan AgongHis Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the Supreme Head of State. His Majesty is
elected by the Conference of Rulers and holds office for five years. However the King
does not preside over both houses, Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat but addresses the
two Houses as and when necessary. By convention, this is only done at the beginning of
each Parliamentary Session, which commences each year.
2. Dewan Negara (The Senate)Dewan Negara comprises 70 members of which 2 members are elected by each of the 13
State Legislative Assemblies and 44 are appointed by His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan
Agong for their experience and wisdom or represent ethnic minorities, profession,
commerce and other groups. A full term of office of a Senator is 3 years and could be
extended to 2 terms. Dewan Negara is not affected by the dissolution of Parliament.
3. Dewan Rakyat (The House Of Representatives)Dewan Rakyat has 222 members, each representing one constituency. Election of
members is held every 5 years. The number of members of the Barisan Nasional
Componant Parties is 137. The opposition parties consist of 78 members and 7
independents.
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Distribution of Seats
GOVERNMENT OPPOSITION INDEPENDENT
United Malays National Organization (UMNO)
78
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) 26
7
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
15
Democratic Action Party
(DAP) 28
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak (PBB)
14
Parti Islam Semalaysia
(PAS) 23
Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC)
3
Socialist Party of Malaysia
(PSM) 1
Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP)
6
Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (PGRM)2
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS)
3
United Pasuk Momogun Kadazan Dusun
Organization (UPKO) 4
Sarawak Progresive Democratic Partiy (SPDP)
4
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
1
Parti Barisan Rakyat Sabah (PBRS)
1
Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS)
6
Total
137 78 7
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Function of Parliament
1. To Pass laws2. To Make amendments of existing laws3. To Approve new taxes4. To Examine the Governments policies5. To Approve the Governments expenditure/spendingAt the beginning of each year, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong declares open to Parliament.
In his Royal Address, His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong outlines the national
progress and future development policies.
How a Bill Become Law
Before a Bill becomes law and an Act of Parliament it has to go through the following stages:
BILL
FIRST READING (Reading of the long title)
SECOND READING
General principles of the bill are debated.
Voting by simple majority (by voice) or 2/3 majority through divisions.
COMMITTEE STAGE
Specific Debate on all clauses, schedule and preambles will take place.
Amendments will be dealt with.
THIRD READINGVoting for second time.
Long title will be read and passed by the House.
ROYAL ASSENT
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GAZETTED AND PRINTED
LAW
* Similar procedures apply in both Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat. However in Dewan
Negara, the Money Bill will not pass through committee stage and will go straight to third
reading.
Yang Di-Pertua Dewan Negara (The President of The Senate)
The Yang di-Pertua of the Dewan Negara is responsible for the Dewan Negara and
will regulate proceeding according to the Standing Orders of the Dewan Negara. He is elected
from amongst the members and ceases the hold office on the expiry of his term as a Senator.
He President is assisted by one deputy.
Yang Di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat (The Speaker Of The House Of Representative)
The Yang di-Pertua of the Dewan Rakyat is the presiding officer of The House. He
presides over the proceedings of the house in accordance with the Standing Orders. The Yang
di-Pertua need not be a member of The House to be elected as the speaker by the House. The
speaker is assisted by two Deputies.
Chief Administrator
The Chief Administrator of Parliament is the officer in-charge of administrative and
financial matters of Parliament.
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Secretary of the Senate and Secretary of the House of Representatives
Secretary to The Senate and secretary to The House of Representatives are responsible
for the proceeding of the meeting in both Houses. They are also responsible for keeping the
record of proceeding.
Standing Orders
The Standing Orders of the Dewan Negara and the Dewan Rakyat are sets of rules and
procedure on the conduct of the proceedings of respective House. Each House has its own
Standing Orders.
Question Time
During question time, any member of the House may raise questions to any Cabinet
Minister regarding the implementation as well as the problems of the Government Policies
relevant to the Ministry concern. Verbal exchanges are often heated and lively. It takes one
and half-hour from 10.00 am to 11.30 am.
Hansard
The Hansard is the official Verbatim Report of Parliamentary debates. Hansard
constitutes a complete and accurate record of every word which is spoken in Parliament, and
each House issues its own separate report.
Mace
The Mace is a symbol of Royal Authority and hence the authority of Parliament. Each
House has its own Mace. It is an integral component of the Regalia of Parliament.
Parliamentary proceeding cannot be conduct without the Mace.
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Sergeant-At-Arms
Sergeant-at-arms is the custodian of the mace. For the sergeant-at-arms, the mace is
also the warrant for him to execute his authority when acting under the direction of the
Speaker. He is responsible for the security inside both Houses.
The Parliament Building
The Parliament Building is the brainchild of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj,
Malaysias first Prime Minister. The foundation stone was laid by the third Yang Di-Pertuan
Agong, Seri Paduka Baginda Tuanku Syed Putra Al-Haj Ibni Al-Marhum Syed Hassan
Jamalullail on 31 August 1962.
The RM18-million building was built on a 16.2 land of hectares, near to the Perdana
Lake Garden. Construction began in September 1962 and was complete on November 1963. It
was officiated by His Majesty Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Syed Putra Al-Haj Ibni Al-
Marhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail on 2 November 1963. The Parliament Complex has two
main structures: The Main Block and The Tower Block
Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat are both located in the main block. The main block
too houses the Ministers offices, Speaker and Presidents Office, Banquet Hall, Royal Suite,
Surau, library hall and Committee Rooms. The 17 storey tower block houses of offices of the
Prime Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers, Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Leader
of the Opposition as well as the administrative division of Parliament.
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2.1 Why Seperation of power?
Separation of powers, a system of government where power is split among multiple
groups or branches, is important because it provides a system of checks and balances on the
government. With three separate branches working together, no one branch can impose their
own agenda that goes against the interest of the people.
If, for example, Congress tried to pass a law that violated the Constitution, the
President could veto that law. If the president didn't veto it, the Supreme Court could declare
it unconstitutional.The system of checks and balances limits government corruption, since itis much harder to get an unfair agenda passed when it would have to go through three
different entities. As a practical matter, it also makes the governing of the country easier. The
responsibility is divided up, so no one single branch has to control all aspects of governing a
country. Imagine, for example, if Congress had to make all the laws and then enforce them by
hearing all court cases that arose from them. It would be a tremendous amount of
responsibility (not to mention power) for one governing body to do all that.
Marchamont Nedham, writing under Cromwell's Protectorate in 1656 (no. 2), the
required separation is that of legislative and executive powers into different "hands and
persons." As used by him, the distinction resembles the sharp dichotomy between the
formation of policy and its administration favored by mid-twentieth-century American
administrative theorists. Separation, for Nedham, is an indispensable means for locatingresponsibility and fixing accountability. An executive, unambiguously charged with executing
a policy set by the "Law-makers," can be held liable for its performance or nonperformance.
Let that clear line of distinction and responsibility be blurred, and liberty and the people's
interest are alike in jeopardy.
8/3/2019 The Separation of Power and the Parliament
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Reference
Abdul Rashid Moten & Syed Serajul Islam. (2004)(2nd Ed). Introduction Political
Science.
Abdul Rashid Moten & Syed Serajul Islam. (2005).Political Science: The Premier
Sabitha Marican. (2001). Dasar Awam di Malaysia: Isu dan Konsep. Kuala Lumpur:
Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn. Bhd.
Prestus, R. (1975).Public Administration. New York: Prentice Hall.
Seperation of power. Retrieved on 27 Nov 2011, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers
Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved on 27 Nov 2011, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Malaysia