Leader of the Opposition (Malaysia) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent Hamzah Zainudin since 10 December 2022
Style	Yang Berhormat (The Honourable)
Member of	House of Representatives
Reports to	Parliament
Appointer	Dewan Rakyat
Term length	5 years or less, renewable once (while commanding the confidence of the lower house of Parliament with General Elections held no more than five years apart) By convention, is held by the leader of the largest political party in the Dewan Rakyat that is not in government
Inaugural holder	Burhanuddin al-Helmy
Formation	1959; 66 years ago (1959)

The Leader of the Opposition (Malay: Ketua Pembangkang) in Malaysian politics is a very important Member of Parliament. This person leads the biggest political party in the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) that is not part of the government.

When Parliament meets, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the left side of the main table. They sit opposite the Prime Minister. The leader is chosen by their political party. A new leader is picked if the current one steps down or if their party decides to choose someone else.

What is the Leader of the Opposition's Role?

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy. This means it has a King or Queen, but the country is run by elected officials. It also has a parliamentary system, which is like a team of lawmakers. This system is based on the Westminster model, which is used in many countries.

In this system, the Opposition plays a key role. They are like a watchdog for the government. The Opposition looks closely at the government's plans and laws. They often point out what they think could be done better. They can also suggest their own ideas for new laws or how to spend money.

The Opposition's main job is to challenge the government. They try to make sure the government is doing a good job for the people. Because of this, the Opposition is sometimes called the 'government in waiting'. This means they are ready to take over if the current government loses power.

Since November 2022, PN has been the largest Opposition group in Malaysia. The person who served as Leader of the Opposition for the longest time was Lim Kit Siang. He held the position for a total of 28 years!

Who Has Been the Leader of the Opposition?

Here is a list of the people who have served as the Leader of the Opposition in Malaysia. The colors show which political party or group they belonged to.

      PMIP/PAS       LPM       DAP       SNAP       PKR       PH       BN       PN

#	Portrait	Leader of the Opposition	Political party		Term of office			Refs
					Took office	Left office	Time in office
1.		Burhanuddin al-Helmy (1911–1969) MP for Besut		PMIP	1959	1964	5 years
2		Tan Chee Khoon (1919–1996) MP for Batu		SF (LPM)	18 May 1964	10 January 1966	4 years, 307 days
				LPM	10 January 1966	28 May 1968
				Gerakan	28 May 1968	20 March 1969
Parliament suspended					1969	1971
3.		Mohamed Asri Muda (1923–1992) MP for Pasir Puteh		PMIP	1971	1973	2 years
4.		Lim Kit Siang (b.1941) MP for Bandar Malacca		DAP	30 January 1973	31 July 1974	1 year, 183 days
5.		James Wong Kim Min (1922–2011) MP for Miri-Subis		SNAP	24 August 1974	30 October 1974	68 days
6.		Edmund Langgu Anak Saga (b.1936) MP for Saratok			4 November 1974	4 November 1975	1 year, 0 days
7.		Lim Kit Siang (b.1941) MP for Kota Melaka (1975-1978) MP for Petaling (1978–1982) MP for Kota Melaka (1982-1986) MP for Tanjong (1986–1999)		DAP	5 November 1975	12 June 1978	24 years, 6 days
					10 October 1978	29 March 1982
					12 October 1982	19 July 1986
					8 October 1986	4 October 1990
				GR (DAP)	10 December 1990	6 April 1995
				DAP	15 June 1995	10 November 1999
8.		Dato' Fadzil Noor (1937–2002) MP for Pendang		BA (PAS)	20 December 1999	23 June 2002	2 years, 186 days
9.		Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (b.1947) MP for Marang			9 September 2002	4 March 2004	1 year, 178 days
10.		Lim Kit Siang (b. 1941) MP for Ipoh Timor		DAP	19 May 2004	13 February 2008	3 years, 271 days
11.		Dato' Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (b. 1952) MP for Permatang Pauh		PR (PKR)	30 April 2008	28 August 2008	121 days
12.		Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim (b.1947) MP for Permatang Pauh			28 August 2008	3 April 2013	6 years, 201 days
					26 June 2013	16 March 2015
13.		Dato' Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (b.1952) MP for Permatang Pauh		PH (PKR)	18 May 2015	7 April 2018	2 years, 325 days
14.		Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (b. 1953) MP for Bagan Datuk		BN (UMNO)	18 July 2018	12 March 2019	238 days
15.		Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (b. 1960) MP for Bera			12 March 2019	24 February 2020	350 days
16.		Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim (b.1947) MP for Port Dickson		PH (PKR)	13 July 2020	24 November 2022	2 years, 135 days
17.		Dato' Seri Hamzah Zainudin (b.1957) MP for Larut		PN (BERSATU)	19 December 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 225 days