Faculty of Administrative and Policy Studies

Diploma In Public Administration

The Strengths and Weakness

Federation of Malaysian

Prepared By :
Rosemary Er (2018634932)
Feezy Joseph (2019998947)
Richell Nur Syafiqa Binti George (2019922671)
 A federation, or federal states, is a political body
described by a combination of partially self-
governing states or provinces united by a central
(federal) government.

 In a federation, there is a self-governing status of the

element states and there is also separation of powers
between them and the central government that is
explicitly demonstrated in the constitution and may
not be amended by a unilateral decision of the latter.

 The federalism is a type of government or

constitutional structure that powers and resources are
divided into different hierarchies of administration.
 Are most common
entities that form a
federal system of
government expressed
by the constitution or a
separate federal law.
 Malaysian is a system of government comprises the
federal, state and local government;
 Malaysian also is thirteen (13) states united and joined
together within a constitutional monarchy using the
British system and is categorized as a representative
democracy;
 The federal government adopts the principle of
separation powers and has three (3) branches :
EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATURE and JUDICIARY;
 Also have their respective executive and legislative
bodies;
 Is the doctrine and practice of dividing the powers of a
government among different branches to guard against
abuse of authority;

 A government of separated powers assigns different political

and legal powers to the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches;
Legislative Branch : has the power to make laws
Executive Branch : has the authority to administer the law
and to appoint officials and oversee the administration of
government responsibilities
Judicial Branch : has the power to try cases brought to court
and to interpet the meaning of laws under which the trials
are conducted
There are several strengths and weakness of federal
government and federalism.
 Some of the strengths of adopting federal system of
government are the following :-

1. it ensures that government remains close to the

people because the state government argue that they
are more in tune with the daily needs and aspirations
of people especially relevant to small and isolated
places
2. it encourages development of the nation in a
decentralized and regional manner and allows for
unique and innovative methods for attacking social,
economic and political problems.
3. it provides a barrier to the dominance of the majority
 Besides that, the weakness of adopting federal system of
government are the following :-

1. it can lead to duplication of government and

inefficient, over-lapping or contradictory policies in
different parts of the country
2. it can lead to inequality between the states and lead to
unhealthy competition and rivalry between them
3. it can lead to over-government that will result to
corruption
The Federal Constitution divides and enumerates
responsibilities between the Federal and State
governments, and it provides the division of power
between layers of government. In practice, it could
be said that Malaysia has a very centralized
system. The Malaysian governmental structure is
unique, and it even has a one of a kind rotational
monarchy system which is designed to place
accountability and balance of power among the
monarchies. In conclusion, although there are
unique elements in the Malaysian governmental
structure, it has not prevented the installation of a
functioning government that is able to effectively
make and administrate policy, divide power, and
maintain itself as a representative democracy.
 https://www.malaysia.gov.my/portal/index
 My Constitution: Of Executive Power, Federal and State
Governments, 17 August 2010 from The Malaysian Bar:
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/constitutional_law_committe
e/myconstitution_of_executive_power_federal_and_state_gove
rnments.html
 Raja Nur Alaini Bt Raja Omar (2012), A Historical Perspective Of
Federalism In Malaysia And Its Effects On The Current System Of
Federalism, University Kuala Lumpur, Kajang, Selangor Malaysia,
from http://ijbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/A-Historical-
Perspective-Of-Federalism-In-Malaysia-And-Its-Effects-On-The-
Current-System-Of-Federalism-Raja-Nur-Alaini-Bt-Raja-Omar.pdf