There is no president in Malaysia. In fact, the duties of the head of the executive branch are performed by the prime minister. Currently, he is Mahathir Mohamad, who has held this post since 2018. In this article we will talk about the state structure of this country, its leader.
State of Malaysia
This is a country located in Southeast Asia. It consists of two parts, which are separated by the South China Sea. There has never been a president in Malaysia, as it is a federal constitutional elected monarchy.
East Malaysia, traditionally called Sarawak or Sabah, is located in the north of Kalimantan Island. It borders with Indonesia and Brunei, and by sea - with the Philippines.
Western Malaysia is located on the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. It crosses the sea with Indonesia and Singapore, and by land with Thailand.
60% of the locals are Malays. They have privileges in the field of education, business and employment in the civil service.
Government structure of Malaysia
This is a monarchy, which consists of 13 subjects of the Federation, which are called states, and three federal territories. Interestingly, only 9 states are monarchical, they are ruled by sultans or rajas. The remaining entities are led by governors appointed by the federal government.
Sultans and supreme rulers perform representative functions. Moreover, they approve any laws that are adopted in the country, as well as amendments to the Constitution.
The functions of public administration are performed by the cabinet of ministers and parliament. The latter consists of two chambers - the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Executive power is in the hands of the government, which is headed by the prime minister. In fact, he is the president of Malaysia in our understanding, since he also leads the executive branch.
The prime minister is the politician who is the leader of the party that won the elections to the House of Representatives. At the same time, all ministers must be members of parliament.
Young di Pertuan Agong
So intricately sounds the title of supreme elected monarch, who performs representative and ceremonial functions. At the same time, he is the supreme commander in chief, and therefore, to some extent, he can be called the president of Malaysia.
The procedure for electing a monarch is described in detail in the Constitution. This position is claimed by the leaders of the constituent entities of the Federation. Currently, the name of the president of Malaysia, if we are talking about the king, is Abdullah II. He took this post on January 31, 2019.
Abdullah II - a native of the Pahang Sultanate, he is 59 years old. He began to lead his native state in 2016, when his elderly father was forced to retire due to health reasons.
After taking the post of king, he received the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Admiral of the Fleet and Field Marshal of the Malaysian Army.
In his country, he is also known as a sports functionary. Abdullah II leads the Asian Field Hockey Federation. This sport is very popular on this continent. For several years, he led the football federation of his country. He left this post in 2017.
The Malaysian football team, which never had enough stars from the sky, tried to break into the Asian Cup with him in 2015. But failed in the qualifying tournament, losing to the national teams of Bahrain and Qatar.
Speaking about who rules in Malaysia, it is necessary, first of all, to note precisely this politician, although he is not directly related to the leadership of the executive authorities.
Prime Minister
The head of the ministries is the prime minister. He is the head of government, the representative of the highest executive in the state. This post was established in 1963 with the formation of an independent state. However, the Prime Minister is not officially the head of state. This status belongs to the king of the country.
When asked to show a photo of the president of Malaysia, some mistakenly point to the prime minister. But it’s hard to understand whether these people are really wrong. After all, in fact, there is no such position in the country. Therefore, it is not clear who to consider the president in the usual sense for us.
In Malaysia, the prime minister is the leader of the party that won the lower house of parliament. His office is located in the city of Putrajaya, which is the new administrative center of the country. It is located 20 kilometers from the capital of Kuala Lumpur, where the king is located. The residence of the head of government has been here since 1999.
Mahathir Mohamad
The current Prime Minister Mohamad has already held this position for a rather long period of time - from 1981 to 2003. Now Mohamad is 93 years old, he returned to power again. This is one of the most famous political centenarians in the world, whose career has been going on for over 40 years.
In 1981, he came to power at the head of the OMNO party. One of his first decisions was an amnesty for political prisoners. After that, he began to strengthen the centralization of power in the country, which led to a conflict with the leaders of individual states.
Economic policy was carried out in the style of “Thatcherism,” public sector enterprises were privatized.
After winning the 1986 parliamentary elections, Mohamad began to suppress opposition in the country. More than a hundred people were arrested. In 1990, the Vision 2020 program was announced, and the powers of state leaders were significantly reduced. Since 1995, a development project has been developed for the construction of the Malay analogue of Silicon Valley, the Formula 1 highway appeared in the country.
In 2003, he resigned.
Return to power
In 2018, Mohamad took part in the parliamentary elections from the Pact of Hope party.
In May 2018, he won a landslide victory, becoming one of the oldest prime ministers on the planet. At the time of his election, he was 92 years old. Interestingly, he is still the most elderly ruler in the entire history of mankind. It is not possible to establish a record holder, since the exact dates of the lives of many ancient leaders are unknown.
It is considered the most positive politician in Malaysia, who made the greatest contribution to its economic success and prosperity. Made the country one of the most successful in Southeast Asia.