Chief Whip (Malaysia)

Chief Whip (Malaysia)

The Chief Whip in Malaysia is the Member of Parliament (MP) from the governing party who ensures each MP votes in accordance with the party line when necessary. The office of the Chief Whip exists only in the lower house of Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat. Derived from the Chief Whip of the British Parliament, the concept of the whip — which also refers to the instructions issued by the Chief Whip — has been in force since 1955 when a national legislature for Malaya was first elected. The party governing then was the coalition of the Alliance, which governed until the mid-1970s, when it was renamed as the Barisan Nasional (National Front; commonly abbreviated as BN). As of 2006, the Chief Whip is Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and his deputies are Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Parliamentary Affairs Nazri Aziz, Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy, and Works Minister Samy Vellu.

There is some dispute about the precise nature of the whip, such as when it is in force. Convention in most Commonwealth countries that utilise the Westminster system, such as Malaysia, is that the whip is not in force unless explicitly made clear by the Chief Whip or his deputy. However, Parliamentarians have recently clashed over whether such is the case in Malaysia. In BN, although the Chief Whip rarely issues official directives, government MPs have tended to follow the party line. Most BN MPs who have contravened the government's stance in Parliament have been sanctioned. Recently, an official directive from the Prime Minister stated that the whip was always in force unless the Chief Whip or his deputy indicated otherwise.