Dewan Undangan Negeri: How a State Makes Its Own Laws

Land is a state matter. Islamic family law is a state matter. Local government is a state matter. But who actually passes the law on these matters in a given state, and according to what rules? The answer is not a matter of convention or practice alone — it is written, section by section, in a Schedule at the end of the Federal Constitution.

That Schedule is the Eighth Schedule, and the gateway to it is Article 71. This page describes what the two of them establish about the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN): how it is formed, how long it lasts, and what the Constitution allows it to do.

At a glance

Name	Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly)
Type	The legislature of a state, a single House
Constitutional basis	Article 71; Part I of the Eighth Schedule, Federal Constitution
Composition	The Ruler and one House, namely the DUN (section 3)
Membership	Elected members, number fixed by state law (section 4)
Qualifying age	Not less than 18 years (section 5, amended by Undi18)
Maximum term	Five years from the first meeting (section 9(3))
Presiding officer	Yang di-Pertua (Speaker) (section 10)
Head of state government	Menteri Besar / Chief Minister, heading the State Executive Council (section 2)

Article 71: why every state must have a DUN

Malaysia is a federation of 13 states. Article 71 does not leave every state to form its legislature however it pleases. Instead, Article 71(4) provides that if the Constitution of a State does not contain the provisions set out in Part I of the Eighth Schedule — referred to as the “essential provisions” — or provisions substantially to the same effect, Parliament may make law to give effect to those essential provisions in that state.

The effect is a shared framework. Each state writes its own Constitution, but the core skeleton of the DUN — composition, term, member qualifications, how law is passed — is standardised by the Eighth Schedule. The sections below trace through those core provisions.

Composition: the Ruler and one House

Section 3 of the Eighth Schedule states it in a single sentence: the State Legislature consists of the Ruler and one House, namely the Dewan Undangan Negeri. In other words, the “State Legislature” is not merely the House of elected members; it includes the Ruler, because a Bill only becomes law once it has been assented to (see section 11 below).

Section 4(1), in turn, provides that the DUN consists of such number of elected members as the Legislature itself provides by law. This is an important contrast with Dewan Rakyat, whose seat count (222) is stated directly in the text of Article 46 of the Federal Constitution. For the DUN, the Federal Constitution fixes no number — each state sets its own number of seats through state law, and that number differs from one state to another.

Qualification and disqualification of members

Section 5 sets out the basic qualification: every citizen not less than 18 years of age who is resident in the State is qualified to be a member of the DUN, unless disqualified under the Constitution or by law. This age limit was formerly 21; it was lowered to 18 by the Akta Perlembagaan (Pindaan) 2019 — known as Undi18 — which came into force on 15 December 2021, and that amendment also touched section 5 of the Eighth Schedule, not the Dewan Rakyat alone.

Section 6 lists the grounds for disqualification — among them unsound mind, an undischarged bankrupt, holding an office of profit, being convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment of not less than one year or a fine of not less than RM2,000, and voluntarily acquiring foreign citizenship. Section 7 adds one simple rule: a person may not be a member of the DUN for more than one constituency at the same time.

Term, summoning and dissolution

Section 9 governs the DUN’s life cycle:

• Section 9(1) — the Ruler shall summon the DUN from time to time and shall not allow six months to elapse between the last sitting in one session and the first meeting in the next session.
• Section 9(2) — the Ruler may prorogue or dissolve the DUN.
• Section 9(3) — the DUN, unless sooner dissolved, continues for five years from the date of its first meeting, then automatically dissolves.
• Section 9(4) — once the DUN is dissolved, a general election shall be held within 60 days, and the newly summoned DUN shall be called to meet not later than 120 days from the date of dissolution.
• Section 9(5) — a casual vacancy is filled within 60 days, subject to a two-year proviso similar to that which applies to the Dewan Rakyat.

It should be noted that the decision to dissolve the DUN is not purely routine. Section 1(2)(b) of the Eighth Schedule lists “withholding consent to a request to dissolve the Dewan Undangan Negeri” as one of the functions the Ruler may exercise in his own discretion.

The Yang di-Pertua and the power to make law

Section 10 provides that the DUN shall elect a Yang di-Pertua (Speaker), and shall transact no other business while that office is vacant except electing a Yang di-Pertua. Under sections 10(1A) and 10(1B), a person who is not a member of the DUN may also be elected Yang di-Pertua provided he is qualified to be a member — in that case he becomes an additional member but has no right to vote.

How a state law is formed is set out in section 11:

1. Section 11(1) — the Legislature’s power to make law is exercised through a Bill passed by the DUN and assented to by the Ruler.
2. Section 11(2) — a Bill or amendment involving expenditure from the State Consolidated Fund may only be brought in by a member of the State Executive Council.
3. Section 11(2A) — the Ruler shall assent to the Bill within 30 days after it is presented to him.
4. Section 11(2B) — if it is not assented to within that period, the Bill becomes law once that 30-day period expires, as if it had been assented to.
5. Section 11(3) — a Bill becomes law once assented to, but no law comes into force until it is published.

A law passed by the DUN in this way is usually known as an Enakmen (and an Ordinan in Sarawak).

Power over state finances

Section 14 requires the Ruler, for every financial year, to cause a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the State to be laid before the DUN — that is, the state budget. The estimate must separate expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund from other proposed expenditure. In this way, the power to spend state money rests on the DUN’s consent.

The state government is responsible to the DUN

Section 2 of the Eighth Schedule connects the DUN to the state’s executive branch, namely the State Executive Council (EXCO):

• Section 2(2)(a) — the Ruler shall first appoint as Menteri Besar a member of the DUN who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House.
• Section 2(2)(b) — on the advice of the Menteri Besar, the Ruler appoints not more than ten and not fewer than four other members from among the members of the DUN.
• Section 2(5) — the State Executive Council is collectively responsible to the DUN.
• Section 2(6) — if the Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the DUN, then unless the Ruler at his request dissolves the DUN, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.

In a state that has a Chief Minister rather than a Menteri Besar, the term means the same thing under the Constitution.

The DUN’s privileges and its relationship with the Federation

Article 72 protects the DUN’s internal proceedings. Article 72(1) provides that the validity of any proceedings in the DUN may not be questioned in any court, and Article 72(2) grants members immunity from court action over anything said or any vote given in DUN proceedings.

The scope of the DUN’s legislative power in turn depends on the division of powers in the Ninth Schedule. Article 73(b) allows the State Legislature to make laws for the whole or part of the state; Article 74(2) limits it to matters in the State List and the Concurrent List; and Article 75 provides that if a state law is inconsistent with federal law, federal law prevails and the state law is void to the extent of the inconsistency.

States without a Ruler

Nine states have a Ruler: Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu. The other four states — Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak — have no Ruler. Article 160 defines the Yang di-Pertua Negeri as the Head of State for a state that has no Ruler. In these states, the functions given to the “Ruler” under the essential provisions of the Eighth Schedule — summoning and dissolving the DUN, assenting to Bills, appointing the Menteri Besar — are carried out by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

It should also be noted that the definition of “Dewan Undangan Negeri” in Article 160 specifically includes the Council Negri in Sarawak — the historic name for Sarawak’s Dewan Undangan Negeri.

Common mistakes

• Confusing the DUN with the Dewan Negara. The DUN is the legislature of a state; Dewan Negara is the upper House of the federal Parliament. The name “Dewan Negeri” used by some states (for example Dewan Negeri Johor) refers to that state’s DUN, not the Dewan Negara.
• Assuming the number of DUN seats is fixed in the Federal Constitution. It is not. Section 4(1) leaves the number of members to each state’s own law, so the number differs between states.
• Confusing the size of the Exco with the number of DUN members. Section 2(2)(b) limits members of the State Executive Council (other than the Menteri Besar) to not more than ten and not fewer than four — this is not the total number of DUN members.
• Assuming the Federal Territories have a DUN. Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya are not states and have no DUN; law for the Federal Territories is made by Parliament.
• Stating the candidate age limit as 21. Since Undi18 came into force on 15 December 2021, the qualifying age to be a member of the DUN under section 5 is 18.

What’s next

• Dewan Rakyat — compare the DUN’s structure with the lower House of the federal Parliament, including the difference in how the number of seats is fixed.
• Who Makes What Law: The Federal, State and Concurrent Lists — the subjects a DUN can and cannot legislate on.
• Election Commission (SPR) — the body that conducts DUN elections and constituency delimitation.
• Conference of Rulers — the role of the Malay Rulers in Malaysia’s constitutional system.
• Federal Constitution — the parent document containing Article 71 and the Eighth Schedule.