Prime Minister of Malaysia

Prime Minister of Malaysia
Perdana Menteri Malaysia ڤردان منتري مليسيا‎
Coat of arms of Malaysia
Emblem of the Prime Minister's Office
Incumbent Anwar Ibrahim since 24 November 2022
Government of Malaysia Prime Minister's Department
Style	Prime Minister (informal) Yang Amat Berhormat (formal) The Right Honourable (within the Commonwealth) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	Cabinet Prime Minister's Department National Finance Council National Security Council House of Representatives
Reports to	Parliament
Residence	Seri Perdana, Putrajaya
Seat	Perdana Putra, Putrajaya
Appointer	Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Term length	Five years, renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Malaysia
Inaugural holder	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Formation	31 August 1957 (1957-08-31)
Salary	RM22,826.65
Website	www.pmo.gov.my

The prime minister of Malaysia (Malay: Perdana Menteri Malaysia; Jawi: ڤردان منتري مليسيا) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints as the prime minister a member of Parliament (MP) who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs; this person is usually the leader of the party winning the most seats in a general election.

After the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the chief minister of the Federation of Malaya, became the first prime minister of Malaysia.

Appointment

The prime minister's office at Perdana Putra, Putrajaya

According to the Federal Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint a prime minister to preside over the Cabinet. The prime minister is to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives), and who in his majesty's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House. This person must be a Malaysian citizen, but cannot have obtained their citizenship by means of naturalisation or registration. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint other ministers from either the Dewan Rakyat or Dewan Negara (Senate) with the prime minister's advice.

The prime minister and his cabinet ministers must take and subscribe to the oath of office and allegiance as well as the oath of secrecy in the presence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before they can exercise functions of office. The Cabinet is collectively accountable to the Parliament of Malaysia. The members of the Cabinet shall not hold any office of profit and engage in any trade, business or profession that will cause a conflict of interest. The Prime Minister's Department (sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister's Office) is the body and ministry in which the prime minister exercises his/her functions and powers.

In the case where a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or when the House passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the prime minister is bound by convention to resign immediately. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong's choice of replacement prime minister will be dictated by the circumstances. All other ministers shall continue to hold office by the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless if the appointment of any minister is revoked by his majesty upon the advice of the prime minister. Any minister may resign his office.

Following a resignation in other circumstances, defeat in an election, or the death of a prime minister, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would generally appoint as the new leader of the governing party or coalition as new Prime Minister.

Malaysia uses first-past-the-post-voting system, which means a party or coalition who gets 112 seats in lower house will lead the government.

Powers

See also: Malaysian federal budget

The power of the prime minister is subject to a number of limitations. Prime ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives, must advise a new election of the lower house or resign the office. The defeat of a supply bill (one that concerns the spending of money) or unable to pass important policy-related legislation is seen to require the resignation of the government or dissolution of Parliament, much like a non-confidence vote, since a government that cannot spend money is hamstrung, also called loss of supply.

The prime minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Malaysian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the House of Representatives is mostly a formality.

Under the Constitution, the prime minister's role includes advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on:

• the appointment of the federal ministers (full members of cabinet);
• the appointment of the federal deputy ministers, parliamentary secretaries (non-full members of cabinet);
• the appointment of 44 out of 70 Senators in the Dewan Negara;
• the summoning and adjournment of sittings of the Dewan Rakyat;
• the appointment of judges of the superior courts (which are the High Courts, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court);
• the appointment of the attorney-general and the auditor-general; and
• the appointment of the chairmen and members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, Election Commission, Police Force Commission, Education Service Commission, National Finance Council, and Armed Forces Council;

Under Article 39 of the Constitution, executive authority is vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. However, Article 40(1) states that in most cases, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is bound to exercise his powers on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister acting under the Cabinet's general authority. Thus, most of the day-to-day work of governing is actually done by the prime minister and the Cabinet.

Acting prime minister

From time to time, prime ministers are required to leave the country on business and a deputy is appointed to take their place during that time. In the days before jet aeroplanes, such absences could be for extended periods. However, the position can be fully decided by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the King of Malaysia when the position remains empty following the sudden resignation or death of the prime minister.

Caretaker prime minister

Under Article 55(3) of Constitution of Malaysia, the lower house of Parliament, unless sooner dissolved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with his own discretion on the advice of the prime minister, shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting. Article 55(4) of the Constitution permits a delay of 60 days of general election to be held from the date of dissolution and Parliament shall be summoned to meet on a date not later than 120 days from the date of dissolution. Conventionally, between the dissolution of one Parliament and the convening of the next, the prime minister and the cabinet remain in office in a caretaker capacity.

Interim prime minister

The office of interim prime minister was created by the king before the appointment of the new prime minister during the 2020 Malaysian political crisis. However, caretaker prime minister is mentioned as the cabinet tendered resignation to the king until a new prime minister is appointed.

List of prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political coalitions/parties):
  Alliance Party (2)   Barisan Nasional (6)   Pakatan Harapan (2)   Perikatan Nasional (1)

Portrait		Title Prime Minister Office (Lifespan)	Term of office & mandate Duration in years and days			Deputy Prime Minister (Term in office)	Coalition (Party)	Government	Parliament	Monarch (Reign)
		His Highness Tunku Abdul Rahman تونکو عبدالرحمن‎ (1903–1990) MLC for Sungei Muda, 1955–1959 MP for Kuala Kedah, 1959–1973 (Resigned)	31 August 1957	22 September 1970	1955	Abdul Razak Hussein (31 August 1957–22 September 1970)	Alliance (UMNO)	1st Cabinet Rahman I (1955–1959)	–	YdPA I Abdul Rahman (1957–1960)
					1959			2nd Cabinet Rahman II (1959–1964)	I
										YdPA II Hisamuddin (1960–1960)
										YdPA III Putra (1960–1965)
					1964			3rd Cabinet Rahman III (1964–1969)	II
										YdPA IV Ismail Nasiruddin (1965–1970)
					1969			4th Cabinet Rahman IV (1969–1970)	III
			13 years and 23 days							YdPA V Abdul Halim (1970–1975)
		The Most Felicitous Tun Haji Abdul Razak Hussein عبدالرزاق حسين‎ (1922–1976) MLC for Semantan, 1955–1959 MP for Pekan, 1959–1976 (Died in office)	22 September 1970	14 January 1976	1974	Ismail Abdul Rahman (22 September 1970–2 August 1973) (Died in office)	Alliance (UMNO)	5th Cabinet Razak I (1970–1974)
							Barisan Nasional (UMNO)
						Position vacant (2–13 August 1973)
						Hussein Onn (13 August 1973–15 January 1976)		6th Cabinet Razak II (1974–1976)	IV
			5 years and 115 days							YdPA VI Yahya Petra (1975–1979)
		The Most Felicitous Tun Hussein Onn حسين عون‎ (1922–1990) MP for Johore Bahru Timor, 1971–1974 MP for Sri Gading, 1974–1981 (Resigned)	15 January 1976	16 July 1981	1978	Position vacant (15 January–5 March 1976)	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)	7th Cabinet Hussein I (1976–1978)
						Mahathir Mohammad (5 March 1976–16 July 1981)		8th Cabinet Hussein II (1978–1981)	V
										YdPA VII Ahmad Shah (1979–1984)
			5 years and 184 days
		The Most Felicitous Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad محاضير محمد‎ (b. 1925) MP for Kota Star Selatan, 1964–1969 MP for Kubang Pasu, 1974–2004 (Resigned)	16 July 1981	30 October 2003		Position vacant(16–18 July 1981)
					1982	Musa Hitam File:Musa-hitam.jpg (18 July 1981–16 March 1986)	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)	9th Cabinet Mahathir I (1981–1982)
								10th Cabinet Mahathir II (1982–1986)	VI
										YdPA VIII Iskandar File:SI Potret 0001.jpg (1984–1989)
					1986	Position vacant (16 March–10 May 1986)		11th Cabinet Mahathir III (1986–1990)	VII
						Abdul Ghafar Baba (10 May 1986–15 October 1993)				YdPA IX Azlan Shah (1989–1994)
					1990			12th Cabinet Mahathir IV (1990–1995)	VIII
						Position vacant (15 October–1 December 1993)
						Anwar Ibrahim (1 December 1993–2 September 1998)				YdPA X Ja'afar (1994–1999)
					1995			13th Cabinet Mahathir V (1995–1999)	IX
						Position vacant (2 September 1998–8 January 1999)
						Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (8 January 1999–31 October 2003)		14th Cabinet Mahathir VI (1999–2003)	X	YdPA XI Salahuddin (1999–2001)
					1999					YdPA XII Sirajuddin (2001–2006)
			22 years and 107 days
		The Most Felicitous Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi عبدﷲ أحمد بدوي‎ (b. 1939) MP for Kepala Batas, 1978–2013 (Resigned)	31 October 2003	3 April 2009	2004	Position vacant (31 October 2003–7 January 2004)	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)	15th Cabinet Abdullah I (2003–2004)
						Najib Razak (7 January 2004–3 April 2009)		16th Cabinet Abdullah II (2004–2008)	XI
										YdPA XIII Mizan Zainal Abidin (2006–2011)
					2008			17th Cabinet Abdullah III (2008–2009)	XII
			5 years and 155 days
		The Respected Dato' Sri Haji Najib Razak نجيب رزاق‎ (b. 1953) MP for Pekan, 1976–1982, 1986–2022 (Lost reelection)	3 April 2009	9 May 2018		Position vacant(3–10 April 2009)
					2013	Muhyiddin Yassin (10 April 2009–29 July 2015)	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)	18th Cabinet Najib I (2009–2013)
						Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (29 July 2015–10 May 2018)				YdPA XIV Abdul Halim (2011–2016)
								19th Cabinet Najib II (2013–2018)	XIII
										YdPA XV Muhammad V (2016–2019)
			9 years and 37 days
		The Most Felicitous Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad محاضير محمد‎ (b. 1925) MP for Langkawi, 2018–2022 (Resigned)	10 May 2018	24 February 2020	2018	Position vacant (10–21 May 2018)	Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU)	20th Cabinet Mahathir VII (2018–2020)	XIV
						Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (21 May 2018–24 February 2020)
			1 year and 291 days							YdPA XVI Abdullah (since 2019)
During this interval, the incumbent Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad was the Interim Prime Minister. (24 February–1 March 2020)
		The Honourable Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin Yassin محيي الدين ياسين‎ (b. 1947) MP for Pagoh, 1978–1986, since 1995 (Resigned)	1 March 2020	16 August 2021	–	Position vacant (1 March 2020–7 July 2021)	Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)	21st Cabinet Muhyiddin (2020–2021)
						Ismail Sabri Yaakob (7 July–16 August 2021)
			1 year and 169 days
During this interval, the incumbent Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin was the Caretaker Prime Minister. (16–21 August 2021)
		The Honourable Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob إسماعيل صبري يعقوب‎ (b. 1960) MP for Bera, since 2004 (Lost reelection)	21 August 2021	24 November 2022	–	Position vacant (21 August 2021–24 November 2022)	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)	22nd Cabinet Ismail Sabri (2021–2022)
			1 year and 96 days
		The Right Honourable Dato' Seri Haji Anwar Ibrahim أنور إبراهيم‎‎ (b. 1947) MP for Permatang Pauh, 1982–1999, 2008–2015 MP for Port Dickson, 2018–2022 MP for Tambun, since 2022	24 November 2022	Incumbent	(2022)	Position vacant (since 24 November 2022)	Pakatan Harapan (PKR)	23rd Cabinet Anwar (since 2022)	XV
			1 year and 224 days

Timeline

List of acting prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political parties):

  Alliance Party   Barisan Nasional

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Notes	Political Party
		Abdul Razak Hussein (1922–1976)	19 August 1959	19 November 1959	Abdul Razak Hussein was the acting prime minister after the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, stepped down as prime minister for three months in 1959 to strengthen his party, the Alliance for the 1959 federal elections after it had lost two states, Kelantan and Terengganu, in the state elections which at that time were held before the federal contest.	Alliance Party (UMNO)
		Ismail Abdul Rahman (1915–1973)	22 September 1970	22 September 1970	Ismail Abdul Rahman occasionally acted as acting prime minister when Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak Hussein were on leave for going abroad.
		V. T. Sambanthan (1919–1979)	3 August 1973	13 August 1973	V. T. Sambanthan was called to serve as acting prime minister and chair the cabinet meeting for a day when the former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein was overseas and his deputy Ismail Abdul Rahman had died.	Alliance Party (MIC)
		Ling Liong Sik (b. 1943)	4 February 1988	16 February 1988	In 1988, when UMNO as the founding member of the Barisan Nasional coalition was declared unlawful and illegal political party, Mahathir Mohamad was disqualified as the Barisan Nasional chairman. Ling Liong Sik became the new chairman of the Barisan Nasional and served as an acting prime minister for a couple of days until the new party, UMNO Baru, was legalised by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).	Barisan Nasional (MCA)
		Anwar Ibrahim (b. 1947)	19 May 1997	19 July 1997	Anwar Ibrahim acted as an acting prime minister for two months started from 19 May 1997 as Mahathir Mohamad was on vacation.	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)

List of interim or caretaker prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political parties):

  Pakatan Harapan   Perikatan Nasional   Barisan Nasional

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Notes	Political Party
		Mahathir Mohamad (b. 1925)	24 February 2020	1 March 2020	During the 2020 Malaysian political crisis, Mahathir Mohamad had been appointed as the interim prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong following the abrupt resignation of he himself as the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia since he won the 14th General Election massively in 2018 while the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decided the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as the new 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia few days later. This position does not exist in any part of the laws of Malaysia. However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong created this position to handle the situation during the crisis, based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution.	Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU)
		Muhyiddin Yassin (b. 1947)	16 August 2021	21 August 2021	The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appointed him as the caretaker prime minister on 16 August 2021 based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong then decided to appoint Ismail Sabri as the 9th Prime Minister of Malaysia five days later. This position does not exist in any part of the laws of Malaysia. However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong created this position to handle the situation during the crisis, based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution.	Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)

See also

• Air transports of heads of state and government
• Official state car
• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
• Leader of the Opposition (Malaysia)
• Chief Ministers in Malaysia