Dewan Rakyat
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The Dewan Rakyat (Malay: People's Hall) is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills or proposed acts of law must pass through the Dewan Rakyat before proceeding to the upper house of the Dewan Negara, which must pass the bill as well to have it sent to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) for royal assent. The Dewan Rakyat may also amend legislation at will. Members of the Dewan Rakyat are often referred to as Members of Parliament or MPs.
Process
A proposed act of law begins its life when a particular government minister or ministry prepares a first draft with the assistance of the Attorney-General's Department. The draft, known as a bill, is then discussed by the Cabinet. If it is agreed to submit it to Parliament, the bill is distributed to all MPs. It then goes through three readings before the Dewan Rakyat. The first reading is where the minister or his deputy submits it to Parliament. At the second reading, the bill is discussed and debated by MPs. At the third reading, the minister or his deputy formally submit it to a vote for approval. A 2/3rds majority is usually required to pass the bill, but in certain cases, a simple majority suffices. Should the bill pass, it is sent to the Dewan Negara, where the three readings are carried out again. The Dewan Negara may choose not to pass the bill, but this only delays its passage by a month, or in some cases, a year; once this period expires, the bill is considered to have been passed by the house. [1]
If the bill passes, it is presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), who has 30 days to consider the bill. Should he disagree with it, he returns it to Parliament with a list of suggested amendments. Parliament must then reconsider the bill and its proposed amendments and return it to the King within 30 days if they pass it again. The King then has another 30 days to give the royal assent; otherwise, it passes into law. The law does not take effect until it is published in the Government Gazette. [2]
Although MPs are ordinarily legally immune from being prosecuted for matters they discuss in Parliament, an exception is made by the Sedition Act passed by Parliament in the wake of the May 13 racial riots in 1969. Under the Act, all public discussion of repealing certain Articles of the Constitution dealing with Bumiputra privileges such as Article 153 is illegal. This prohibition is extended to all members of both houses of Parliament. [3]
Membership and machinery
A member of the Dewan Rakyat must be at least 21 years of age and must not be a member of the Dewan Negara. The Presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat is the Speaker, who is elected at the beginning of each Parliament or after the vacation of the post by the MPs. Two Deputy Speakers are also elected, and one of them sits in place of the Speaker when he is absent. The Dewan Rakyat machinery is supervised by the Clerk to the House who is appointed by the King; he may only be removed from office through the manner prescribed for judges or by mandatory retirement at age 60. [4]
The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are usually drawn from the Dewan Rakyat.
Each Dewan Rakyat lasts for a maximum of five years, after which a general election must be called. In the general election, voters select a candidate to represent their constituency in the Dewan Rakyat. Before a general election can be called, the King must first dissolve Parliament on the advice of the Prime Minister. [4]
Notes and references
- ^ Shuid, Mahdi & Yunus, Mohd. Fauzi (2001). Malaysian Studies', pp. 33, 34. Longman. ISBN 983-74-2024-3.
- ^ Shuid & Yunus, p. 34.
- ^ Means, Gordon P. (1991). Malaysian Politics: The Second Generation, pp. 14, 15. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-588988-6.
- ^ a b "Government: Parliament: Dewan Rakyat". Retrieved February 8, 2006.
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