Template talk:Politics of Malaysia

Proposed restructuring
I understand that there's a proposal to restructure the infobox. Let's have a look at what's being proposed and why. - Bob K | Talk 03:01, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, the current one does not correctly reflect the actual structure which is based on the Westminster system. I propose the following structure according to the Constitution of Malaysia. (See side model)

First of all, the Constitution is the base document which set the rules and principles that define the government. The constitution defines the separation the powers of the government, ceremoniously held by the Supreme Head of State, into three branches: Executive, Legislature, Judiciary. So with this, both the Constitution and the Supreme Head of State must not be categorised into any of the branches as it is done now in the structure. Both should stay on top of the infobox, and the order should be Constitution first, followed by the Head of State, with the reason being the Supreme Head of State is an institution defined by the Constitution (PART IV: Chapter 1 of the Constitution). The Conference of Rules must also be included into the equation, to be listed after the Head of State, as it not only decides which of the 9 hereditary rulers would eventually become the next Head of State after the 5-year term expires, but also has a lot of influence in the three branches of the government. This institution is explicitly defined in the constitution (PART IV: Chapter 2).

In the Executive, the constitution defines (PART IV: Chapter 3) that a Prime Minister shall lead a cabinet of ministers. The Deputy Prime Minister post does not exist in the Constitution and thus should not be listed in the infobox.

The Legislature is the Parliament, which is bicameral, consists of the upper and lower houses. The Senate is led by a President (Article 56), while the House of Representatives is chaired by a Speaker (Article 57).

As per Article 121, the Judiciary branch consists of the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal, and two High Courts (High Court in Malaya and High Court in Sabah and Sarawak), each headed by a chief judge or president.

Because Malaysia is a federation of states, there shall also be another main section for State Governments. The State Governments section will be brief and only have the Executive and Legislative branches as the Judiciary is under the purview of the Federal government.

The Elections will have its own section in line with the democracy system of the government. This is placed at the bottom as it involves both the Federal and State level governments.

I also wish to propose that incumbents of all posts/offices mentioned above not to be listed in the infobox. This infobox is to give an quick overview of the structure of the politics and government of Malaysia, not the details of who is in office, which readers can get by clicking the respective links of the posts/offices. This will also prevent the need to always update the box unless there is a major change in the political and government structure.

Myinuk (talk) 00:13, 28 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Not a bad idea. I like the structure you proposed. Let's leave it up for a while to see if there are any further opinions. If not, then I'd suggest that you go ahead with the proposed changes. Nonetheless, I'd like to suggest that the current hidden table structure be retained as some of the articles that would fall under this larger category are quite short and to have a long infobox at the side would not really add to the aesthetics of the article. - - Bob K | Talk 00:21, 28 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Amended the model a little -- forgot about the state constitutions and rulers/governors. And yeah, I agree on maintaining the hide/show style. -- Myinuk (talk) 00:44, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Prime Minister Designate?
As far as I know, there isn't such a title in Malaysia. The Prime Minister is usually an elected Member of Parliament who is the leader of the largest political party in Parliament. Currently this position is already filled. The decision on who becomes the Prime Minister has to be confirmed by His Majesty the Yang Dipertuan Agong and the majority of the House. So far there has been no indication that this has occurred for any designated successor. The only process that has been done so far is a unilateral decision by one political party. I am therefore removing the title until we can achieve a consensus on this. - Bob K | Talk 02:44, 20 January 2009 (UTC)