Opposition (Malaysia)

Opposition (Malaysia)

The Opposition in Malaysia is the group of political parties represented in the Parliament of Malaysia that are not in government either on their own or as part of a governing coalition. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet, rather than the state.

The title Official Opposition, used in most of the other member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations to designate the political party not in government with the largest number of parliamentary seats, is rarely used in Malaysia. It is common practice to refer to such a party simply as the Opposition, or by the party name.

Theoretically, according to the system of Westminster Democracy upon which the Malaysian political system is loosely based, the Opposition is seen as the alternative government and prepared to assume office should the incumbent government be defeated at a general election. Due to the domination of the Barisan Nasional (and its predecessor, the Alliance) coalition of the parliament since independence, this perception is generally not acknowledged and recognized by Malaysians, though the recent elections in 2008 have caused Anwar Ibrahim to declare the Opposition the "government in waiting".