Leader of the Opposition (Malaysia)

In the Dewan Rakyat, the Leader of the Opposition sits at the front table to the left of the Speaker's Chair (on the right-hand side in this photo).

The Leader of the Opposition in Malaysian Federal Politics is a Member of Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives).[1] By convention, the position is held by the leader of the political party not in government that has the most seats in the House. When in parliament, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the left-hand side of the centre table, in front of the Opposition and opposite the Prime Minister. The Opposition Leader is elected by the minority party of the House according to its rules. A new Opposition Leader may be elected when the incumbent dies, resigns, or is challenged for the leadership.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system and is based on the Westminster model. The Opposition is an important component of the Westminster system, with the Opposition directing criticism at the Government's policies and programs, give close attention to all proposed legislation and attempts to defeat and replace the Government. The Opposition is therefore known as the 'government in waiting' and it is a formal part of the parliamentary system. Due to the domination of the Barisan Nasional (and its predecessor, the Alliance) coalition of the parliament since independence, this perception is generally not acknowledged by Malaysians, though since the 2008 elections, Anwar Ibrahim has declared that the Opposition is the 'government in waiting'. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration, majority party or coalition in parliament or the cabinet, rather than the state.

To date there have been 10 Opposition Leaders, none of whom have served terms as Prime Minister. The current Leader of the Opposition is Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of the People's Justice Party, following an election of the new Parliamentary PKR Leader by caucus and other minority party's MPs on 18 May 2015.

List of Leaders of the Opposition of Malaysia

Name
(Birth–Death)
Constituency
Portrait Political party Term of office Prime Minister Refs
Burhanuddin al-Helmy
(1911–1969)
MP for Besut
PMIP 1959 1964 Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tan Chee Khoon
(1919–1996)
MP for Batu
SF (LPM) 1964 1969
Vacant 1969 1971
Abdul Razak Hussein
Mohamed Asri Muda
(1923–1992)
MP for Pasir Puteh
PMIP 1971 1973
Lim Kit Siang
(b. 1941)
MP for Bandar Malacca
DAP 30 January 1973 31 July 1974 [2]
James Wong
(1922–2011)
MP for Miri-Lubis
SNAP 1974 1974
Edmund Langgu Saga
(b. 1936)
MP for Saratok
SNAP 4 November 1974 4 November 1975 [3]
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 4 November 1975 12 June 1978 [4]
Hussein Onn
31 July 1978 29 March 1982 [5]
Mahathir Mohamad
10 July 1982 19 July 1986 [6]
8 October 1986 4 October 1990 [7]
10 December 1990 6 April 1995 [8]
15 June 1995 10 November 1999 [9]
Fadzil Noor
(1937–2002)
MP for Pendang
PAS 20 December 1999 23 June 2002 [10]
Abdul Hadi Awang
(b. 1947)
MP for Marang
PAS 9 September 2002 4 March 2004 [11]
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Lim Kit Siang
(b. 1941)
MP for Ipoh Timor
DAP 19 May 2004 13 February 2008 [12]
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
(b. 1952)
MP for Permatang Pauh
PKR 30 April 2008 28 August 2008 [13][14]
Anwar Ibrahim
(b. 1947)
MP for Permatang Pauh
PKR 28 August 2008 3 April 2013 [15]
Najib Razak
26 June 2013 16 March 2015 [16][17]
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
(b. 1952)
MP for Permatang Pauh
PKR 18 May 2015 Incumbent [18]

References

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