The Opposition in Malaysia is a term used to describe political parties represented in the Parliament of Malaysia that is not in government either on its 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 to designate the political party securing the largest number of seats in the Lower House of parliament (Dewan Rakyat), and which is not in government, is rarely used in Malaysia. It is the common practice to refer to the Opposition simply as The Opposition, or by the party name.

Theoretically, according to the system of Westminster Democracy upon which the Malaysian 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".

Leader of the Opposition

By convention, the Leader of the Opposition comes from the political party that secures the largest number of seats in the Dewan Rakyat, and which is not in government. The Leader of Opposition is often seen as the Prime Minister in waiting.

Current Leader of Opposition background

Following the resignation of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of the People's Justice Party (PKR) on July 31, 2008, and Anwar Ibrahim's victory in Permatang Pauh on August 26, 2008, Anwar is declared the Leader of the Opposition. Together with Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), they form Pakatan Rakyat.

The position of the Leader of the Opposition had generally been given to members of PAS or the DAP, but has on two occasions included the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) in a joint leadership with the DAP and, more recently, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

The list of Leaders of the Opposition include:

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
0	Burhanuddin Mohd Noor (unofficial)	1959	1964	PAS
1	Tan Chee Khoon	1964	1969	Labour;GERAKAN
2	Mohamed Asri Muda	1971	1973	PAS
3	Lim Kit Siang	1973	1973	DAP
4	James Wong	1974	1974	SNAP
5	Edmund Langgu Saga	1975	1975	SNAP
6	Lim Kit Siang	1975	1999	DAP
7	Fadzil Noor	1999	2002	PAS of Barisan Alternatif
8	Abdul Hadi Awang	2002	2004	PAS of Barisan Alternatif
9	Lim Kit Siang	2004	2008	DAP
10	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail	March 2008	July 2008	PKR of Pakatan Rakyat
11	Anwar Ibrahim	August 28, 2008	Incumbent	PKR of Pakatan Rakyat

See also

• Parliamentary opposition
• Loyal opposition
• Barisan Alternatif and Barisan/Pakatan Rakyat
• List of political parties in Malaysia
• Dewan Rakyat

References