The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the

Malaysian state Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It is a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

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 The Penang State Assembly Building is the home of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. It is located at Light Street, George Town, Penang, Light Street in the city of George Town, Penang, George Town in Penang, Malaysia, within the city's UNESC ...

in Penang's capital city of George Town. The

Penang State Executive Council The Penang State Executive Council is the executive branch of the Penang state government. It is headed by the chief minister, who is appointed by the governor, Penang's head of state. The council also comprises between four and ten other member ...

, the executive branch of the Penang state government, is drawn from among the State Assemblymen. After the

2023 Penang state election The 15th Penang state election was held on 12 August 2023 to elect the State Assembly members of the 15th Penang State Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. Penang is one of the states which did not dissolve simu ...

, 29 out of 40 seats are held by the

Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...

(PH) and

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

(BN). The PH–BN alliance thus command a

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

in the legislature. Meanwhile, 11 seats are held by the

Perikatan Nasional Perikatan Nasional (PN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Right-wing politics, right-wing and Far-right politics, far-right political parties. It is the second largest political coalition in Dewan Rakyat w ...

(PN) opposition coalition. DUN P Pinang 2020

Current composition

Seating arrangement

The seating arrangement of the Penang State Legislative Assembly is as follows.

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. Debates in the Assembly are presided over by the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Assembly is appointed the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

by the Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang. The Chief Minister heads the state's

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, 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: * Public Accounts Committee * Committee on Privileges * House Committee * Standing Orders Committee * Constitution Committee

Speakers Roll of Honour

The following is the

of the Penang State Legislative Assembly Roll of Honour, since 1959:Senarai Yang di-Pertua Dewan Undangan Negeri
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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

References

External links

Penang State Assembly Portal
{{Malaysia Current MLA P Unicameral legislatures Politics of Penang