# Malaysia's Political Party System

> A descriptive and impartial account of how political parties are registered in Malaysia (as societies under the Societies Act 1966 by the Registrar of Societies), the main coalitions (BN, PH, PN, GPS and others), and how coalition governments and the unity government were formed after the 2022 GE15.

- Category: government
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-01
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/government/political-parties-malaysia

---

In Malaysia, a political party does not begin inside Parliament or on a
campaign stage. It begins with a form at the counter of the Registrar of
Societies — because in law, a party is a kind of *society*, just like a club
or an association.

This page explains three things descriptively and impartially: how a party is
registered, what the main coalitions are, and how election results turn into a
government. It does not endorse any party or coalition, and it does not judge
anyone's policies.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Party registration | As a society under the Societies Act 1966 (Act 832) |
| Authority | Registrar of Societies (ROS) |
| Definition of "political party" | Defined in the interpretation part of the Societies Act 1966 |
| Registration flow | Application → decision to register or refuse → certificate of registration |
| Government formation | Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution |
| Dewan Rakyat majority threshold | 112 of 222 seats |
| After GE15 (2022) | Hung Parliament → unity government |

## How is a party registered?

Malaysia does not have a separate "political-party act". Instead,
parties are registered under the **Societies Act 1966** — an Act whose long
title states that it is "relating to the registration of societies". The current
version is Act 832 (Revised 2021), which was published on 15 November 2021 and
came into force on 1 December 2021.

The Act gives political parties a specific definition. In its interpretation
part, a "political party" is defined as any society whose purposes or rules
provide for the participation of that society, through its candidates, in
elections to the Dewan Rakyat, State Legislative Assemblies or any local
authority. In other words, what makes a society a "political party" in law is
not its name, but its intention to field candidates in elections.

Registration itself follows the same flow as any other society:

1. **Application.** A society applies to be registered with the Registrar of
   Societies, together with its constitution or rules.
2. **Registration or refusal.** The Registrar may register the society or
   refuse registration on the grounds provided in the Act.
3. **Certificate of registration.** A successful society receives a certificate
   of registration.

Once registered, a society must act in accordance with its own constitution.
The Act also provides for the **cancellation and suspension of registration**
in certain circumstances. The body that administers all of these processes is
the Registrar of Societies of Malaysia, better known as the Registrar of
Societies (ROS).

This framework means that two things that are often confused are actually
separate: **party registration** is governed by the Societies Act 1966 and
administered by the ROS, while the **conduct of elections** — nomination,
polling and vote counting — is governed by the Constitution and election laws
and administered by the Election Commission (SPR). Two bodies, two roles.

## What is a coalition, and how does it differ from a party?

Most parties do not contest alone. They gather into
*coalitions* — groupings of several parties that agree to contest together,
usually under one shared election logo and with an agreed division of seats so
that their candidates do not clash with one another.

The difference can be summarised as follows:

- **A party** has its own membership, constitution and leadership, and is
  registered separately.
- **A coalition** is a cooperative arrangement among component parties. It may
  also be registered as a society under the same Act, but its component parties
  remain separate entities.

A candidate is usually a member of one of the component parties but contests
under the coalition's logo.

## Who are the main coalitions today?

The coalition landscape changes from time to time as parties join or leave a
bloc. As at the reference date of this page, the main federal coalitions
include the following. The list of component parties below is brief and not
exhaustive.

| Coalition | Some component parties | Brief note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Barisan Nasional (BN)** | UMNO, MCA, MIC | One of the long-established federal coalitions |
| **Pakatan Harapan (PH)** | PKR, DAP, Amanah | The bloc that won the most seats in GE15 (2022) |
| **Perikatan Nasional (PN)** | Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan | A coalition that contested in GE15 (2022) |
| **Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)** | Led by PBB, together with other parties | A Sarawak-based coalition |
| **Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)** | Sabah-based parties | A Sabah-based coalition |

There are also parties that contest outside these large coalitions, including
regional parties such as Warisan in Sabah and other parties that contest
independently or within smaller alliances.

## How do voting results turn into a government?

Voters choose the member for their constituency; those members then determine
who governs. **Article 43(2)(a)** of the Federal Constitution provides that the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints as Prime Minister a member of the Dewan Rakyat
who "in His Majesty's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the
majority of the members of that House".

The key is the phrase *confidence of the majority*. Because the Dewan Rakyat
has 222 seats, a simple majority means at least **112 seats**. When one
coalition wins 112 seats or more, the path to forming a government is usually
clear. When no coalition reaches that threshold — a situation known as a
**hung Parliament** — several coalitions may negotiate to form a joint
majority.

## What happened after GE15 in 2022?

The 15th General Election was held on 19 November 2022 and produced a hung
Parliament: no single coalition reached 112 seats. According to the official
results board displayed by MalaysiaNow, Pakatan Harapan secured the largest
bloc with 81 seats, followed by Perikatan Nasional (74), Barisan Nasional (30),
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (6), and several other
parties. (At an early stage, the exact figures were reported with slight
variation because some seats were postponed and counted later — see the
verification note.)

Because no single bloc could govern on its own, the process shifted to
negotiation. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah, consulted the
Malay Rulers and called for the formation of a **unity government** combining
more than one bloc. On **24 November 2022**, Anwar Ibrahim was appointed as the
10th Prime Minister of Malaysia under Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) of the
Constitution, leading a unity government that brought Pakatan Harapan together
with Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and
several other parties.

This arrangement illustrates a feature of the Malaysian system: because the
Prime Minister is appointed based on the *confidence* of the Dewan Rakyat and
not through a direct vote, the governing coalition can be formed after polling
day, through agreements among parties and coalitions.

## Common misconceptions

**"Voters vote for the Prime Minister directly."** No. Voters choose only the
member for their constituency; Article 43(2)(a) leaves the appointment of the
Prime Minister to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong based on the confidence of the
majority of the Dewan Rakyat.

**"A party and a coalition are the same thing."** A party is a single society
with its own membership; a coalition is a cooperation among several parties
that contest together.

**"Malaysia has a separate political-party act."** Parties are registered as
societies under the Societies Act 1966, not under a specific party act.

**"The governing coalition must be the coalition that won the most seats."**
What matters is the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat. Several
coalitions can combine to form a majority even if none of them won on its own.

## What's next

To understand how votes are counted and who is eligible to vote, read
[How Malaysian Elections Work](/government/how-elections-work) and the
[Election Commission](/government/spr-election-commission). For the role of the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the appointment of the Prime Minister, see
[Yang di-Pertuan Agong](/government/yang-di-pertuan-agong), and for the house
filled by party candidates, read [Dewan Rakyat](/government/dewan-rakyat).

To verify the registration provisions on this page, refer to the text of the
Societies Act 1966 (Act 832) on the Attorney General's Chambers portal
[lom.agc.gov.my](https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=832&lang=BI&date=2021-11-15),
and confirm the official GE15 seat figures against the official results of the
Election Commission.

## Sources

- Societies Act 1966 (Act 832) (Revised — 2021) — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=832&lang=BI&date=2021-11-15 (Jabatan Peguam Negara Malaysia (Attorney General's Chambers))
- Societies Act 1966 (Malaysia) — full text (long title and arrangement of sections) — https://www.icnl.org/research/library/malaysia_malaysiasocieties/ (International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL))
- Anwar Ibrahim sworn in as 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia — https://bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2141779 (Bernama)
- Agong names Anwar as 10th PM with reminder against politicking — https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2022/11/24/agong-names-anwar-as-10th-pm (MalaysiaNow)
- GE15 Results — Dewan Rakyat seat tally by coalition — https://www.malaysianow.com/election/general/ge15/results (MalaysiaNow)

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