Type Unicameral | Founded 11 July 1959 | |
Yang di-Pertua Negeri Abdul Rahman AbbasSince 1 May 2001 Deputy Speaker Maktar Shapee, PH–PKRSince 28 June 2013 Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, PH–DAPSince 11 March 2008 | ||
The Penang State Legislative Assembly (Malay: Dewan Undangan Negeri Pulau Pinang) is the state legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout the state.
Contents
The unicameral state legislature, whose members are called state assemblymen, convenes at the neoclassical Penang State Assembly Building at Light Street in the state capital, George Town. Since 2008, Assembly proceedings have been broadcast live on the internet.
It has 40 seats, 29 of which are held by the Pakatan Rakyat compromising the Democratic Action Party which has 19 seats, nine by Parti Keadilan Rakyat and one by Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party defeating the Barisan Nasional with only 11 seats since the 2008 general elections. It was a sharp reversal from the 38 seats held by BN in the 2004 elections and only the second time since Independence that the state fell into non-BN control, the last being in 1969.
Seating arrangement*
Role
The Penang State 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. 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 Chief Minister by the Governor 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:
Speakers Roll of Honour
The following is the Speaker of the Penang State Legislative Assembly Roll of Honour, since 1959: