Opposition (Malaysia)

The Opposition in Malaysia fulfils the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies. It is seen as the alternative government and the existing administration's main opponent at a general election.

Federal Parliament

This is the list of current Leaders of the Opposition in the Parliament of Malaysia:

House	Opposition Leader	Political party^[a]		Term	Government Leader
Dewan Negara	Vacant		N/A	18 July 2018 6 years, 167 days	Vacant
Dewan Rakyat	Hamzah Zainuddin (b. 1957) MP for Larut		PN (BERSATU)	10 December 2022 2 years, 22 days	Anwar Ibrahim (b.) MP for Tambun

^ This column names only the opposition leader's party. The opposition bloc he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; those are not listed here.

State Legislative Assemblies

The Leader of the Opposition in Malaysian state politics is a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly).

In each state, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the State Assembly that is not in government except in the Johor State Legislative Assembly.

When in state legislative assembly, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the left-hand side of the centre table, in front of the Opposition and opposite the Menteri Besar/Chief Minister/Premier. The State Opposition Leader is elected by the minority party of the Assembly according to its rules. A new Opposition Leader may be elected when the incumbent dies, resigns, or is challenged for the leadership.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system and is based on the Westminster model. The Opposition is an important component of the Westminster system, with the Opposition directing criticism at the Government's policies and programs, give close attention to all proposed legislation and attempts to defeat and replace the Government. The Opposition is therefore known as the 'government in waiting' and it is a formal part of the parliamentary system.

This is the list of current Leaders of Opposition in the Legislative Assemblies of the Malaysian states:

Current State Opposition Leaders
as of 1 January 2025
State (and Assembly)	Opposition Leader		Term		Refs
Kedah (14th)	Zamri Yusuf (b. unknown) MLA for Template:Nseat	PH-PKR	12 March 2023 1 year, 295 days	Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (b. 1974) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[1]
Kelantan (14th)	Md Alwi Che Ahmad (b. unknown) MLA for Template:Nseat	BN-UMNO	28 June 2018 6 years, 187 days	Ahmad Yaakob (b. 1950) MLA for Template:Nseat
Malacca (15th)	Mohd Yadzil Yaakub (b. 1978) MLA for Template:Nseat	PN-BERSATU	13 December 2022 2 years, 19 days	Sulaiman Md Ali (b. 1965) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[2]^[3]
Negeri Sembilan (14th)	Mohamad Hasan (b. 1956) MLA for Template:Nseat	BN-UMNO	2 July 2018 6 years, 183 days	Aminuddin Harun (b. 1967) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[4]
Pahang (15th)	Tuan Ibrahim (b.1960) MLA for Template:Nseat	PN-PAS	6 December 2022 2 years, 26 days	Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (b. 1958) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[5]
Penang (14th)	Mohd Yusni Mat Piah (b. 1976) MLA for Template:Nseat	PN-PAS	3 March 2023 1 year, 304 days	Chow Kon Yeow (b. 1957) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[6]^[7]
Perak (15th)	Razman Zakaria (b. 1960) MLA for Template:Nseat	PN-PAS	9 December 2022 2 years, 23 days	Saarani Mohamad (b.1962) MLA for Template:Nseat
Perlis (15th)	Gan Ay Ling (unofficial) (b. unknown) MLA for Template:Nseat	PH-PKR	20 November 2022 2 years, 42 days	Mohd Shukri Ramli (b. 1961) MLA for Template:Nseat
Sabah (15th)	Shafie Apdal (b. 1956) MLA for Template:Nseat	WARISAN	29 September 2020 4 years, 94 days	Hajiji Mohd. Noor (b. 1956) MLA for Template:Nseat
Sarawak (19th)	Wong Soon Koh (b. 1942) MLA for Template:Nseat	PSB	9 November 2020 4 years, 53 days	Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg (b. 1949) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[8]
Selangor (14th)	Rizam Ismail (b. 1982) MLA for Template:Nseat	BN-UMNO	27 June 2018 6 years, 188 days	Amirudin Shari (b. 1980) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[9]
Terengganu (14th)	Ahmad Said (b. 1957) MLA for Template:Nseat	BN-UMNO	21 March 2019 5 years, 286 days	Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar (b. 1970) MLA for Template:Nseat

^ This column names only the opposition leader's party. The opposition bloc he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; those are not listed here.

This is the list of current Leader of Balancing Force in the Legislative Assembly of the Malaysian state:

Current State Balancing Force Leader
as of 1 January 2025
State (and Assembly)	Balancing Force Leader	Political party^[a]		Term	Government Leader		Refs
Johor (15th)	Andrew Chen Kah Eng (b. 1975) MLA for Template:Nseat		PH-DAP	20 March 2023 1 year, 287 days		Onn Hafiz Ghazi (b. 1979) MLA for Template:Nseat	^[10]

^ This column names only the balancing force leader's party. The balancing force bloc he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; those are not listed here.

References

^ "PRU15: Johari Abdul Ketua Pembangkang DUN Kedah baharu". Astro Awani. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
^ "Melaka Opposition bench left with two assemblymen, says Chief Minister". The Star. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^ "Bemban rep Mohd Yadzil is Opposition leader in Melaka state assembly". The Star. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
^ "BN wins Rantau with 4,510-vote majority". Malaysiakini. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
^ "PN lantik Tuan Ibrahim Ketua Pembangkang DUN Pahang". Berita Bersatu (in Malay). 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
^ "BN's Yusoff Noor made Penang opposition leader". Free Malaysia Today. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
^ BERNAMA (2023-03-03). "ADUN Bertam dinamakan ketua pembangkang DUN P. Pinang". BERNAMA. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
^ Victoria, Emma (9 November 2020). "Wong Soon Koh now the opposition leader in Sarawak". The New Sarawak. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
^ "Sg Air Tawar rep named S'gor opposition leader". Malaysiakini. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
^ "Liew Chin Tong ketua pembangkang baru Johor". Malaysiakini. 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2022-04-11.

[1] This column names only the opposition leader's party. The opposition bloc he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; those are not listed here.

[2] This column names only the opposition leader's party. The opposition bloc he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; those are not listed here.

[12] This column names only the balancing force leader's party. The balancing force bloc he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; those are not listed here.

[3] "PRU15: Johari Abdul Ketua Pembangkang DUN Kedah baharu". Astro Awani. Retrieved 2022-10-31.

[4] "Melaka Opposition bench left with two assemblymen, says Chief Minister". The Star. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[5] "Bemban rep Mohd Yadzil is Opposition leader in Melaka state assembly". The Star. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

[6] "BN wins Rantau with 4,510-vote majority". Malaysiakini. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-13.

[7] "PN lantik Tuan Ibrahim Ketua Pembangkang DUN Pahang". Berita Bersatu (in Malay). 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2022-12-07.

[8] "BN's Yusoff Noor made Penang opposition leader". Free Malaysia Today. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-09.

[9] BERNAMA (2023-03-03). "ADUN Bertam dinamakan ketua pembangkang DUN P. Pinang". BERNAMA. Retrieved 2023-03-03.

[10] Victoria, Emma (9 November 2020). "Wong Soon Koh now the opposition leader in Sarawak". The New Sarawak. Retrieved 14 November 2020.

[11] "Sg Air Tawar rep named S'gor opposition leader". Malaysiakini. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-09.

[13] "Liew Chin Tong ketua pembangkang baru Johor". Malaysiakini. 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2022-04-11.

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