Dewan Rakyat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids House of Representatives Dewan Rakyat ديوان رعيت
15th Parliament
Type
Type	Lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia
Leadership
Speaker	Johari Abdul, PH-PKR Since 19 December 2022
Deputy Speaker I	Ramli Mohd Nor, BN-UMNO Since 19 December 2022
Deputy Speaker II	Alice Lau, PH-DAP Since 19 December 2022
Secretary	Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin Since 13 May 2020
Prime Minister	Anwar Ibrahim, PH-PKR Since 24 November 2022
Deputy Prime Minister I	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, BN-UMNO Since 3 December 2022
Deputy Prime Minister II	Fadillah Yusof, GPS-PBB Since 3 December 2022
Structure
Seats	222
Political groups	Government (153)      PH (81)      DAP (40)      PKR (31)      AMANAH (8)      UPKO (2)      BN (30)      UMNO (26)      MCA (2)      MIC (1)      PBRS (1)      GPS (23)      PBB (14)      PRS (5)      PDP (2)      SUPP (2)      GRS (6)      Direct member (4)      PBS (1)      STAR (1)      WARISAN (3)      KDM (2)      PBM (1)      Independent (7) Opposition (69)      PN (68)      PAS (43)      BERSATU (25)      MUDA (1)
Committees	5 Committee of Selection Public Accounts Committee House Committee Committee of Privileges Standing Orders Committee
Length of term	Up to 5 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	19 November 2022
Next election	By 17 February 2028
Meeting place
Dewan Rakyat chamber Malaysian Houses of Parliament, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Dewan Rakyat is like the "House of Representatives" or "People's Assembly" in Malaysia. It's the lower part of Malaysia's main law-making body, called the Parliament. The Parliament has two parts: the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara, which is the upper house.

The Dewan Rakyat is made up of 222 members. These members are called Members of Parliament (MPs). People vote directly for them in elections. Each MP represents a specific area, called a federal constituency. They keep their seats for up to five years. After five years, a new election must be held.

Even though both parts of Parliament need to agree on new laws, the Dewan Rakyat has more power. It can usually pass laws even if the Dewan Negara doesn't agree right away. The government's main team, called the Cabinet, is also mainly responsible to the Dewan Rakyat. The Prime Minister needs the support of the Dewan Rakyat to stay in power.

How the Dewan Rakyat Started

The idea for the Dewan Rakyat began a long time ago with something called the Federal Legislative Council. In that council, 52 out of 100 members were chosen directly by the people. This was similar to how MPs are chosen today.

In 1959, the old council was closed down. This made way for the first Dewan Rakyat, which became the lower house of Malaysia's Parliament. The way people voted stayed the same. The number of seats grew to 104, and all members were elected by the people. The ruling group, called the Alliance, won most of the seats. Tunku Abdul Rahman became the Prime Minister again. The new Parliament met for the first time on September 2, 1959.

After Malaysia was formed, some areas like Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore had a special arrangement. Their representatives were chosen by their local assemblies, not directly by the people. So, in the 1964 elections, not all seats were directly voted on. The Alliance group continued to win many seats.

The 1969 elections were different. The Alliance group did not win as many votes as before. This led to some unrest, and Parliament was paused until 1971. When Parliament reopened, the Alliance group, now called Barisan Nasional, gained more support and formed a strong government again.

Who Are the Members?

Members of the Dewan Rakyat are called "Members of Parliament" or "Ahli Dewan Rakyat" in Malay. They hold their positions as long as they win in the elections.

To be an MP, a person must be at least 18 years old. This age limit was changed from 21 in 2019. An MP cannot also be a member of the Dewan Negara at the same time.

The person in charge of the Dewan Rakyat is called the Speaker. MPs choose the Speaker when a new Parliament starts or if the Speaker's position becomes empty. There are also two Deputy Speakers who help the Speaker. If the Speaker is not there, one of the Deputy Speakers takes their place.

A special officer called the Clerk of the House helps run the Dewan Rakyat. The King appoints this person.

As of the 2018 general election, there are 222 elected members in the Dewan Rakyat. These members are elected from different areas called federal constituencies. The borders of these areas are redrawn every ten years based on how many people live there.

Each Dewan Rakyat lasts for a maximum of five years. After this, a general election must be held. In a general election, people vote for a candidate to represent their area. The candidate who gets the most votes wins the seat. This is called the first-past-the-post voting system.

Before a general election can happen, the King must officially close Parliament. The Prime Minister usually suggests this to the King. The King has the power to agree or disagree with closing Parliament.

How Laws Are Made

The Parliament is the part of the government that makes laws for the country. These laws are called Acts of Parliament.

MPs have special rights when they speak in Parliament. They can talk about any topic without being punished outside Parliament. This protection applies when they are speaking inside the House. However, there are some limits. For example, a law passed after the 1969 events makes it illegal to discuss changing certain parts of the Constitution. This includes rules about special rights for certain groups of people. MPs are also not allowed to criticize the King or judges.

The government's leaders, including the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, are usually chosen from the MPs. Most of them are from the Dewan Rakyat. After an election, the King chooses the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. Usually, this is the leader of the party with the most seats in Parliament.

The Prime Minister then gives the King a list of people to be Ministers in the Cabinet. These Ministers must also be MPs. The Cabinet decides on government plans and writes new laws. All Cabinet members must agree with the decisions made, even if they privately disagree. If they don't want to be responsible for a decision, they must resign. There is also a Deputy Prime Minister who steps in if the Prime Minister cannot do their job.

A new law starts as a draft, called a bill. A government minister or department prepares this draft. The Cabinet then discusses the bill. If they agree, the bill is given to all MPs.

The bill then goes through three steps in the Dewan Rakyat:

• First reading: The minister officially presents the bill to Parliament.
• Second reading: MPs discuss and debate the bill.
• Third reading: The minister formally asks for a vote to approve the bill.

Most bills need a simple majority of votes to pass. But for big changes, like to the Constitution, a two-thirds majority is needed. If the bill passes in the Dewan Rakyat, it goes to the Dewan Negara (the upper house). It goes through the same three steps there. The Dewan Negara can delay a bill, but usually, it passes within a month or a year.

If the bill passes both houses, it goes to the King. The King has 30 days to look at the bill. If the King doesn't agree, he can send it back with suggestions for changes. Parliament must then look at the bill and the suggestions again. If they pass it again, they send it back to the King. The King then has another 30 days to approve it. If the King doesn't approve it within that time, the bill still becomes a law. The law only officially starts after it is published in the Government Gazette.

Sometimes, the government keeps new bills very secret. MPs might only get copies a few days before they are discussed. In some rare cases, a bill might be discussed and voted on all in the same day.

It is also possible for individual MPs, not just the government, to suggest new laws. These are called "private member's bills." However, this doesn't happen very often in Malaysia. To suggest a private member's bill, an MP needs permission from the House to discuss it.

Special Chamber for Discussions

In 2016, the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Pandikar Amin Mulia, started a "Special Chamber." This is a separate meeting place where important national issues can be discussed without stopping the main Parliament meetings. Both government and opposition leaders liked this idea.

The Special Chamber was created to discuss "any matter of administration for which the government is responsible" or "an urgent public matter."

Liew Chin Tong, who was an opposition MP at the time, said he suggested the Special Chamber. He wanted it to be like similar chambers in Australia and Britain. He also suggested that the Special Chamber should handle local issues so the main chamber can focus on the most important things. He also thought the Special Chamber should have more time for debates.

In 2023, the new Speaker, Johari Abdul, announced that the Special Chamber would discuss twice as many topics per session. He also said that MPs from both the opposition and government could lead the Special Chamber meetings, not just the Speaker and Deputy Speakers.

Current Members

Affiliation		Leader in Parliament	Status	Seats
				2022 election	Current
	Pakatan Harapan	Anwar Ibrahim	Majority coalition government	81	81
	Barisan Nasional	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi		30	30
	Gabungan Parti Sarawak	Fadillah Yusof		23	23
	Gabungan Rakyat Sabah	Jeffrey Kitingan		6	6
	Heritage Party	Shafie Apdal		3	3
	Social Democratic Harmony Party	Wetrom Bahanda		2	2
	Parti Bangsa Malaysia	Larry Sng		1	1
	Independent	Verdon Bahanda, Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, Zahari Kechik, Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz and Zulkafperi Hanapi		1	7
	Perikatan Nasional	Muhyiddin Yassin	Opposition	74	68
	Malaysian United Democratic Alliance	Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman		1	1
Total				222	222

Members by State and Territory

The number of Members of Parliament (MPs) from each state and federal territory in Malaysia is based on their population. This table shows how many seats each area has in the Dewan Rakyat:

State / federal territory	Number of seats	Population (2020 census)	Population per seat
F. T. Kuala Lumpur	11	1,982,112	180,192
F. T. Labuan	1	95,120	95,120
F. T. Putrajaya	1	109,202	109,202
Johor	26	4,009,670	154,218
Kedah	15	2,131,427	142,095
Kelantan	14	1,792,501	128,036
Malacca	6	998,428	166,405
Negeri Sembilan	8	1,199,974	149,997
Pahang	14	1,591,295	113,664
Penang	13	1,740,405	133,877
Perak	24	2,496,041	104,002
Perlis	3	284,885	94,962
Sabah	25	3,418,785	136,751
Sarawak	31	2,453,677	79,151
Selangor	22	6,994,423	317,928
Terengganu	8	1,149,440	143,680

See also

In Spanish: Dewan Rakyat para niños