Penang State Legislative Assembly
Legislative branch of the Penang state government
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 elected lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout Penang. The state legislature, whose members are called "State Assemblymen", convenes at the Penang State Assembly Building in Penang's capital city of George Town. The Penang State Executive Council, the executive branch of the Penang state government, is drawn from among the State Assemblymen.
Penang State Legislative Assembly Dewan Undangan Negeri Pulau Pinang | |
|---|---|
| 15th State Legislative Assembly | |
| |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 11 July 1959 |
| Leadership | |
Deputy Speaker | |
Leader of the Opposition | |
Secretary | Maheswari Malayandy |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 Quorum: 13 Simple majority: 21 Two-thirds majority: 27 |
 | |
Political groups | (As of 6 July 2024[update]) Government (29) BN (2)
Opposition (11) |
| Committees | 5
|
| Elections | |
| Plurality First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 12 August 2023 |
Next election | By 28 October 2028 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Penang State Assembly Building, Light Street, George Town, Penang | |
| Website | |
| dun | |
After the 2023 Penang state election, 29 out of 40 seats are held by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN). The PH–BN alliance thus command a supermajority in the legislature. Meanwhile, 11 seats are held by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition coalition.
Current composition
| Government | Opposition | ||||
| PH | BN | PN | |||
| 27 | 2 | 11 | |||
| 19 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| DAP | PKR | AMANAH | UMNO | PAS | BERSATU |
Seating arrangement
The seating arrangement of the Penang State Legislative Assembly is as follows.[1]
Role
The Penang State Legislative Assembly's main function is to enact legislation and policies relating to the State List and Joint List as defined in the Federal Constitution. Its members also provide oversight on the state's executive branch of government, ensuring the state departments and agencies enforce the aforementioned legislation.[2] Debates in the Assembly are presided over by the Speaker.
The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Assembly is appointed the Chief Minister by the Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang. The Chief Minister heads the state's executive, known as the State Executive Council, whose members are also drawn from the Assembly.
Committees
The State Assembly also consists of committees to handle administrative matters. The committees include:[3]
- Public Accounts Committee
- Committee on Privileges
- House Committee
- Standing Orders Committee
- Constitution Committee
Speakers Roll of Honour
The following is the Speaker of the Penang State Legislative Assembly Roll of Honour, since 1959:[4]
| No. | Speaker | Term start | Term end | Party | Constituency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sulaiman Ahmad | 6 January 1959 | 1 April 1964 | Alliance (UMNO) | Alma |
| 25 April 1964 | 19 March 1969 | ||||
| 2 | Harun Sirat | 10 May 1969 | 31 July 1974 | Gerakan | Alma |
| 24 August 1974 | 16 June 1978 | BN (Gerakan) | Bukit Tengah | ||
| 3 | Hassan Md Noh | 8 July 1978 | 29 March 1982 | BN (UMNO) | Penaga |
| 4 | Teh Ewe Lim | 22 April 1982 | 19 July 1986 | BN (Gerakan) | Datok Keramat |
| 5 | Ooi Ean Kwong | 3 August 1986 | 5 October 1990 | BN (Gerakan) | Datok Keramat |
| 6 | Abdul Rahman Abbas | 21 October 1990 | 4 April 1995 | BN (UMNO) | Bertam |
| 7 | Yahaya Abdul Hamid | 25 April 1995 | 10 November 1999 | BN (UMNO) | Pinang Tunggal |
| 29 November 1999 | 2 March 2004 | ||||
| 21 March 2004 | 12 February 2008 | Non-MLA | |||
| 8 | Abdul Halim Hussain | 8 March 2008 | 27 June 2013 | PR (PKR) | Non-MLA |
| 9 | Law Choo Kiang | 28 June 2013 | 10 April 2018 | PH (PKR) | Bukit Tambun |
| 2 August 2018 | 28 June 2023 | Non-MLA | |||
| 29 August 2023 | Incumbent |
Election pendulum
The 2023 Penang state election witnessed 29 governmental seats and 11 non-governmental seats filled the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The government side has 25 safe seats and 1 fairly safe seats, while the non-government side has 4 safe seats and 3 fairly safe seats.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
List of Assemblies
| Assembly | Term
began |
Members | Committee | Governing parties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement Council | 1955 | 25 | Wong Pow Nee I (1957–1959) | Alliance (MCA–UMNO–MIC) | |
| 1st | 1959 | 24 | Wong Pow Nee II | Alliance (MCA–UMNO–MIC) | |
| 2nd | 1964 | Wong Pow Nee III | Alliance (MCA–UMNO–MIC) | ||
| 3rd | 1969 | Lim Chong Eu I | GERAKAN (1969–1972)
GERAKAN–Alliance (UMNO) (1972–1973) | ||
| BN (GERAKAN–UMNO) (1973–1974) | |||||
| 4th | 1974 | 27 | Lim Chong Eu II | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA–MIC–PAS) (1974–1977) | |
| 5th | 1978 | Lim Chong Eu III | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA–MIC) | ||
| 6th | 1982 | Lim Chong Eu IV | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA–MIC) | ||
| 7th | 1986 | 33 | Lim Chong Eu V | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA) | |
| 8th | 1990 | Koh Tsu Koon I | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO) | ||
| 9th | 1995 | Koh Tsu Koon II | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA–MIC) | ||
| 10th | 1999 | Koh Tsu Koon III | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA–MIC) | ||
| 11th | 2004 | 40 | Koh Tsu Koon IV | BN (GERAKAN–UMNO–MCA–MIC) | |
| 12th | 2008 | Lim Guan Eng I | PR (DAP–PKR–PAS) | ||
| 13th | 2013 | Lim Guan Eng II | PR (DAP–PKR–PAS) (2013–2015) | ||
| PH (DAP–PKR) (2015–2018) | |||||
| 14th | 2018 | Chow Kon Yeow I | PH (DAP–PKR–AMANAH–BERSATU) (2018–2020) | ||
| PH (DAP–PKR–AMANAH)–BN (UMNO)(2022–2023) | |||||
| 15th | 2023 | Chow Kon Yeow II | PH (DAP–PKR–AMANAH)–BN (UMNO) | ||