Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Since its independence from the British Empire in 1957, the country has been governed as a parliamentary democracy. The federal government is headed by the Prime Minister and consists of two chambers of Parliament: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is elected by members of the Royal Families of Malaysia’s nine states every five years. The government is responsible for creating and implementing national policies, while state governments are responsible for their own local administration. Visit COUNTRYAAH for a list of countries that start with letter M.

The Malaysian political system is based on a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage for citizens aged 21 and above. All citizens have equal rights to participate in politics, regardless of race or religion. Malaysia has a multi-party system with three main political parties: Barisan Nasional (National Front), Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Islamic Party of Malaysia) and Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope). Barisan Nasional has been in power since independence but recently lost its majority after 2018 general elections to Pakatan Harapan coalition led by Mahathir Mohamad.

The country also has an independent judiciary that operates under the rule of law and protects human rights as enshrined in its constitution. Malaysia also has an independent press that reports on government activities and provides citizens with information on politics and current affairs. Political freedom remains relatively high despite recent attempts to silence dissent, such as through legal action against journalists who criticize the government or certain policies.

Yearbook 2016

Malaysia. According to countryaah, the current population of Malaysia is 32,366,010. The trips around the scandalous government investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) rolled on during the year and characterized the policy. Suspected irregularities revealed in 2015 alleged that large sums were illegally transferred to Prime Minister Najib Razak and a circle around him.

Malaysia Population 2016

In January, the prosecutor filed a $ 681 million investigation that was transferred to Najib’s private bank accounts. His conclusion was that the money was a gift from the Saudi royal house for Najib’s 2013 election campaign and was not linked to 1MDB. In addition, Najib had returned almost the entire sum. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister also confirmed the gift.

The opposition criticized the prosecutor’s conclusions and repeated the demands for Najib’s departure. For many years, Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad left the UMNO party, which dominates the government coalition. He formed a new party in September, the PPBM (United Party for Malaysia’s native). Co-founder was Muhyiddin Yassi, who Najib dismissed as Deputy Prime Minister in 2015 when he demanded a more thorough investigation into 1MDB.

Despite the criticism, the government coalition clearly won the regional election in the state of Sarawak on Borneo, which was seen as a test of its popularity. It received 72 out of 82 seats in the state assembly.

The US Department of Justice went to court in July to seize $ 1 billion worth of assets. They are suspected to originate from 1MDB and have been used to purchase assets in the United States in violation of money laundering rules. Investigations continued in Singapore and Switzerland.

In November, tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital Kuala Lumpur demanding reform and anti-corruption. Before the demonstration, about ten members of the coalition Bersih were organized, which organized the protest. Bersih brings together nearly 100 individual organizations.

The government was criticized for striking against media editorials and for trying to silence critics with the help of contentious security laws that were tightened during the year in anticipation of fighting terrorism.

  • Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the 3-letter abbreviation of MYS stands for the nation of Malaysia in geography.

An opposition politician was sentenced in November to 18 months in prison for having leaked an audit report on 1MDB but appealed against the verdict. The human rights group Human Rights Watch warned that the government was trying to control the legal community by pushing through charter amendments.

The fall in oil prices and subdued demand in China, among other things, have burdened the economy. The government estimated growth in 2016 at just over 4% and is not expected to increase in 2017. The central bank unexpectedly lowered its policy rate in July – the first cut in seven years – to support domestic demand.

Najib dismissed speculation that he was considering moving forward the election that was planned for 2018. Some analysts considered it a possibility that the government did not want to risk losing further electoral support.

In June, eight people were injured in a grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of the capital. It was reported to be the first deed performed by supporters of the Islamic State (IS) in the country. Since 2013, the country has arrested over 200 suspected IS supporters.

According to thereligionfaqs, investigations continued on the 2014 airline disasters that hit Malaysia Airlines. There was still no clear conclusion as to why the MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board. The search effort in the Indian Ocean is likely to be discontinued in 2017 when the remainder of the 120,000-square-kilometer search area was searched.

Regarding flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine with 298 people aboard, the Dutch-led investigation confirmed in September that the Russian-made Bukmissil that hit the plane was taken into rebel-controlled territory from the Russian Federation. Moscow questioned the task.