Prime Minister of Malaysia

The prime minister's office at Perdana Putra, Putrajaya

According to the Federal Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint a prime minister to preside over the Cabinet. The prime minister is to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives), and who in his majesty's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House. This person must be a Malaysian citizen, but cannot have obtained their citizenship by means of naturalisation or registration. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint other ministers from either the Dewan Rakyat or Dewan Negara (Senate) with the prime minister's advice.

The prime minister and his cabinet ministers must take and subscribe to the oath of office and allegiance as well as the oath of secrecy in the presence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before they can exercise functions of office. The Cabinet is collectively accountable to the Parliament of Malaysia. The members of the Cabinet shall not hold any office of profit and engage in any trade, business or profession that will cause a conflict of interest. The Prime Minister's Department (sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister's Office) is the body and ministry in which the prime minister exercises his/her functions and powers.

In the case where a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or when the House passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the prime minister is bound by convention to resign immediately. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong's choice of replacement prime minister will be dictated by the circumstances. All other ministers shall continue to hold office by the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless if the appointment of any minister is revoked by his majesty upon the advice of the prime minister. Any minister may resign his office.

Following a resignation in other circumstances, defeat in an election, or the death of a prime minister, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would generally appoint as the new leader of the governing party or coalition as new Prime Minister.

Malaysia uses first-past-the-post-voting system, which means a party or coalition who gets 112 seats in lower house will lead the government.[2]

The power of the prime minister is subject to a number of limitations. Prime ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives, must advise a new election of the lower house or resign the office. The defeat of a supply bill (one that concerns the spending of money) or unable to pass important policy-related legislation is seen to require the resignation of the government or dissolution of Parliament, much like a non-confidence vote, since a government that cannot spend money is hamstrung, also called loss of supply.

The prime minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Malaysian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the House of Representatives is mostly a formality.

Under the Constitution, the prime minister's role includes advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on:

• the appointment of the federal ministers (full members of cabinet);
• the appointment of the federal deputy ministers, parliamentary secretaries (non-full members of cabinet);
• the appointment of 44 out of 70 Senators in the Dewan Negara;
• the summoning and adjournment of sittings of the Dewan Rakyat;
• the appointment of judges of the superior courts (which are the High Courts, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court);
• the appointment of the attorney-general and the auditor-general; and
• the appointment of the chairmen and members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, Election Commission, Police Force Commission, Education Service Commission, National Finance Council, and Armed Forces Council;

Under Article 39 of the Constitution, executive authority is vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. However, Article 40(1) states that in most cases, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is bound to exercise his powers on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister acting under the Cabinet's general authority. Thus, in practice, actual governing authority is vested in the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Colour key (for political coalitions/parties):

  Alliance Party (2)   Barisan Nasional (6)   Pakatan Harapan (2)   Perikatan Nasional (1)

#	Portrait	Prime Minister (Birth–Death) Constituency	Term of office			Ministerial offices held as Prime Minister	Mandate[lower-alpha 1]	Party[lower-alpha 2]		Government	Monarch(s)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		His Highness Tunku Abdul Rahman تونکو عبد الرحمن‎ (1903–1990) MP for Kuala Kedah	31 August 1957	22 September 1970	13 years, 22 days	Minister of External Affairs (1957–1959) Minister of Youth and Sports (1964–1966) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1960–1970)	1955		Alliance (UMNO)	Rahman I	Abdul Rahman Hisamuddin Putra Ismail Nasiruddin Abdul Halim
							1959			Rahman II
							1964			Rahman III
							1969			Rahman IV
2		Tun Haji Abdul Razak Hussein عبد الرزاق حسين‎ (1922–1976) MP for Pekan	22 September 1970	14 January 1976[lower-alpha 3]	5 years, 114 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs (1970–1975) Minister of Defence (1974–1976)	–		Alliance (UMNO)	Razak I	Abdul Halim Yahya Petra
							1974		BN (UMNO)	Razak II
3		Tun Hussein Onn حسين عون‎ (1922–1990) MP for Sri Gading	15 January 1976	16 July 1981	5 years, 182 days	Minister of Federal Territories (1978–1980) Minister of Defence (1976–1978&1979–1981)	–		BN (UMNO)	Hussein I	Yahya Petra Ahmad Shah
							1978			Hussein II
4		Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad محاضير محمد‎ (b. 1925) MP for Kubang Pasu	16 July 1981	30 October 2003	22 years, 106 days	Minister of Defence (1981–1986) Minister of Home Affairs (1986–1999) Minister of Finance (1998–1999&2001–2003)	—		BN (UMNO)	Mahathir I	Ahmad Shah Iskandar Azlan Shah Ja'afar Salahuddin Sirajuddin
							1982			Mahathir II
							1986			Mahathir III
							1990			Mahathir IV
							1995			Mahathir V
							1999			Mahathir VI
5		Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi عبد الله احمد بدوي‎ (b. 1939) MP for Kepala Batas	31 October 2003	3 April 2009	5 years, 154 days	Minister of Home Affairs (2003–2004) Minister of Finance (2003–2008) Minister of Internal Security (2004–2008) Minister of Defence (2008–2009)	—		BN (UMNO)	Abdullah I	Sirajuddin Mizan Zainal Abidin
							2004			Abdullah II
							2008			Abdullah III
6		Dato' Sri Haji Najib Razak نجيب رزاق‎ (b. 1953) MP for Pekan	3 April 2009	9 May 2018	9 years, 36 days	Minister of Finance (2009–2018) Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (Acting) (2012–2013)	—		BN (UMNO)	Najib I	Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim Muhammad V
							2013			Najib II
7		Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad محاضير محمد‎ (b. 1925) MP for Langkawi	10 May 2018	24 February 2020	1 year, 290 days	Minister of Education (Acting) (2020–2020)	2018		PH (BERSATU)	Mahathir VII	Muhammad V Abdullah
During this interval, the incumbent Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad was the Interim Prime Minister. (24 February–1 March 2020)											Abdullah
8		Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin Yassin محيي الدين ياسين‎ (b. 1947) MP for Pagoh	1 March 2020	16 August 2021	1 year, 168 days	–	—		PN (BERSATU)	Muhyiddin
During this interval, the incumbent Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin was the Caretaker Prime Minister. (16–21 August 2021)
9		Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob اسماعيل صبري يعقوب‎ (b. 1960) MP for Bera	21 August 2021	24 November 2022	1 year, 95 days	–	—		BN (UMNO)	Ismail Sabri
10		Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim انور ابراهيم‎‎ (b. 1947) MP for Tambun	24 November 2022	Incumbent	338 days	Minister of Finance (since 2022)	(2022)		PH (PKR)	Anwar

Timeline

Colour key (for political parties):

  Alliance Party   Barisan Nasional

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Notes	Political Party
		Abdul Razak Hussein (1922–1976)	19 August 1959	19 November 1959	Abdul Razak Hussein was the acting prime minister after the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, stepped down as prime minister for three months in 1959 to strengthen his party, the Alliance for the 1959 federal elections after it had lost two states, Kelantan and Terengganu, in the state elections which at that time were held before the federal contest.	Alliance Party (UMNO)
		Ismail Abdul Rahman (1915–1973)	22 September 1970	22 September 1970	Ismail Abdul Rahman occasionally acted as acting prime minister when Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak Hussein were on leave for going abroad.
		V. T. Sambanthan (1919–1979)	3 August 1973	13 August 1973	V. T. Sambanthan was called to serve as acting prime minister and chair the cabinet meeting for a day when the former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein was overseas and his deputy Ismail Abdul Rahman had died.	Alliance Party (MIC)
		Ling Liong Sik (b. 1943)	4 February 1988	16 February 1988	In 1988, when UMNO as the founding member of the Barisan Nasional coalition was declared unlawful and illegal political party, Mahathir Mohamad was disqualified as the Barisan Nasional chairman. Ling Liong Sik became the new chairman of the Barisan Nasional and served as an acting prime minister for a couple of days until the new party, UMNO Baru, was legalised by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).	Barisan Nasional (MCA)
		Anwar Ibrahim (b. 1947)	19 May 1997	19 July 1997	Anwar Ibrahim acted as an acting prime minister for two months started from 19 May 1997 as Mahathir Mohamad was on vacation.	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)

Colour key (for political parties):

  Pakatan Harapan   Perikatan Nasional   Barisan Nasional

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Notes	Political Party
		Mahathir Mohamad (b. 1925)	24 February 2020	1 March 2020	During the 2020 Malaysian political crisis, Mahathir Mohamad had been appointed as the interim prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong following the abrupt resignation of he himself as the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia since he won the 14th General Election massively in 2018 while the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decided the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as the new 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia few days later. This position does not exist in any part of the laws of Malaysia. However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong created this position to handle the situation during the crisis, based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution.[3]	Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU)
		Muhyiddin Yassin (b. 1947)	16 August 2021	21 August 2021	The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appointed him as the caretaker prime minister on 16 August 2021 based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong then decided to appoint Ismail Sabri as the 9th Prime Minister of Malaysia five days later. This position does not exist in any part of the laws of Malaysia. However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong created this position to handle the situation during the crisis, based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution.[4]	Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)

• Air transports of heads of state and government
• Official state car
• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
• Leader of the Opposition (Malaysia)
• Chief Ministers in Malaysia