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

1. "www.parlimen.gov.my" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-10-06.
2. Hansard - 30 January 1973
3. Hansard - 4 November 1974
4. Hansard - 5 November 1975
5. Hansard - 10 October 1978
6. Hansard - 12 October 1982
7. Hansard - 8 October 1986
8. Hansard - 10 December 1990
9. Hansard - 15 June 1995
10. Hansard - 20 December 1999
11. Hansard - 9 September 2002
12. Hansard - 19 May 2004
13. Hansard - 30 April 2008
14. "PKR president poised to make history as first woman Opposition Leader". The Star. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
15. Hansard - 28 August 2008
16. Hansard - 26 June 2013
17. "Anwar disqualified as MP since Mar 16, says speaker". The Malaysian Times. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
18. Hansard - 18 May 2015