Malaysia
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- CONSTITUTION
- August 31, 1957, amended several times, last in 2007
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English common law; legislative acts reviewed by the Supreme Court; Islamic law applies to Muslims in family and religious matters
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Senate (Dewan Negara) and House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- civil courts include: Federal Court, Court of Appeal, and High Courts; Sharia courts include Sharia Court of Appeal, High Sharia Court, and subordinate Sharia tribunals. Sharia court decisions cannot be appealed in civil courts
RELIGIONS
60% Muslims, 19% Buddhists, 9% Christians, 6% Hindus, other
From the country
- APRIL 25, 2001MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Malaysia voted against the resolution on the death...
Malaysia voted against the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 25, 2001 (2001/68)
- APRIL 20, 2001MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Reacting to a report by the Human Rights Commission...
Reacting to a report by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, recommending that the Government review certain laws, including those that allow for detention without trial, the Malaysian Business Times said that, "like the death penalty, no person of so
- APRIL 4, 2001MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A woman witchdoctor, Mona Fandey, her husband and assistant,...
A woman witchdoctor, Mona Fandey, her husband and assistant, sentenced to death for the grisly murder of a Malaysian lawmaker, lost their final chance for a pardon as the Pahang Pardons Board rejected clemency
- MARCH 7, 2001MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A twelve-year-old boy is risking the death penalty...
A twelve-year-old boy is risking the death penalty for the murder of a five-year-old girl
- JANUARY 1, 2001MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The King alone is empowered to commute death sentences
The King alone is empowered to commute death sentences
- NOVEMBER 21, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Two drug traffickers from the same family were hanged...
Two drug traffickers from the same family were hanged in Kajang Prison
- NOVEMBER 15, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Two men were sentenced to death for murdering the business...
Two men were sentenced to death for murdering the business partner of one of the men's wife
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
S. Sivakumar, 27, V. Muruga, 24, S
S. Sivakumar, 27, V. Muruga, 24, S
- JULY 28, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A convicted drug trafficker, Sow Siow Yin, a 33 year...
A convicted drug trafficker, Sow Siow Yin, a 33 year old Malaysian woman, was executed at Changi Prison, Singapore
- JULY 21, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The High Court sentenced 38-year-old Syed Adnan Syed...
The High Court sentenced 38-year-old Syed Adnan Syed Abdullah of Rompin to death after finding him guilty of murdering a night club guest relations officer
- JULY 3, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A Briton was sentenced to death by the High Court in...
A Briton was sentenced to death by the High Court in Malaysia's northern state of Pulau Pinang for trafficking 189
- JULY 3, 2000MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
British charity group Prisoners Abroad appealed to...
British charity group Prisoners Abroad appealed to the Malaysian government to revoke a court sentence condemning a Briton to death by hanging for drug trafficking