# Parliament of Malaysia

> Malaysia's bicameral federal legislature, comprising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara — a descriptive account of its constitutional structure and law-making function.

- Category: government
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/government/parliament

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## At a glance

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| --- | --- |
| Full name | Parliament of Malaysia (Parlimen Malaysia) |
| Type | Federal legislature, bicameral |
| Constitutional basis | Part IV of the Federal Constitution |
| Composition | The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Dewan Negara and the Dewan Rakyat |
| Dewan Rakyat | 222 members, elected from single-member constituencies P001 to P222 |
| Dewan Negara | Senators elected by State Legislative Assemblies and senators appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong |
| Presiding officers | Speaker (Dewan Rakyat); President (Dewan Negara) |
| Seat | Bangunan Parlimen, Kuala Lumpur |

## What Parliament does

Parliament exercises the federal legislative power. Its three core functions are
enacting federal law, authorising taxation and expenditure through the annual supply
process, and scrutinising the executive through debate, questions, motions and select
committees.

Its legislative competence is not unlimited. The **Ninth Schedule** to the Federal
Constitution divides subject matter into a Federal List, a State List and a
Concurrent List. Parliament legislates on the Federal and Concurrent Lists; State
Legislative Assemblies legislate on the State and Concurrent Lists. Sabah and Sarawak
have supplementary items reserved to them, which is why some subjects are handled
differently in the Borneo states.

## The two Houses

**Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives).** The elected chamber. Its 222 members
each represent one federal constituency, numbered P001 through P222 on Parliament's
own register of members. The government of the day is formed from, and is
accountable to, this House. Supply bills originate here.

**Dewan Negara (Senate).** The upper chamber. Under Article 45 of the Federal
Constitution its membership combines senators elected by each State Legislative
Assembly with senators appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Senators are not
returned at a general election, which gives the chamber a membership cycle
independent of the Dewan Rakyat's.

## How a bill becomes law

1. A bill is introduced in one House — most government bills begin in the Dewan
   Rakyat.
2. It is read, debated in committee, and voted on.
3. It passes to the other House and goes through the same stages.
4. Once passed by both Houses it is presented for **royal assent**.
5. It is then gazetted as an Act of Parliament and takes effect on its commencement
   date, which is often later than the date of assent and is sometimes appointed by a
   separate instrument.

Money bills follow a distinct route: they originate in the Dewan Rakyat, and the
Dewan Negara's power in relation to them is constitutionally limited.

## Term and dissolution

The Dewan Rakyat sits for a maximum term fixed by the Federal Constitution, after
which it dissolves automatically and a general election must be held. It may also be
dissolved earlier. The Dewan Negara is not dissolved with it.

## Related knowledge

- [Federal Constitution](/en/law/federal-constitution)

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*This article is classified as sensitive (3R+1: constitutional matters) under
NegaraKu.md's editorial policy. It is written to be strictly descriptive — covering
structure and function only — and is held in draft pending human sign-off before
publication. Figures that could not be confirmed against an official source are
listed in `verificationNeeded` rather than published.*

## Sources

- List of Members — House of Representatives — https://www.parlimen.gov.my/ahli-dewan.html?uweb=dr&lang=en (Parliament of Malaysia)
- Official Portal of the Parliament of Malaysia — https://www.parlimen.gov.my/index.php?lang=en (Parliament of Malaysia)
- Federal Constitution — Laws of Malaysia — https://lom.agc.gov.my/ (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)

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Source of truth: https://github.com/negaraku-md/NegaraKu.md
License: CC BY-SA 4.0