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How Malaysia works
Current topicThe federal government: Cabinet, ministries and agencies

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Civic guideHow Malaysia works
  1. 01
    FoundationsStart with the institutions and levels of government.
    System overviewHow Malaysia is governedFederal legislatureParliament, Dewan Rakyat and Dewan NegaraState legislatureWhat a state assembly does
  2. 02
    Representation and responsibilityWork out who represents you and which institution owns an issue.
    Representation guideMP vs ADUN: who represents what?Who is responsible?Federal, state and local responsibilityVacancy and by-electionWhat happens when a seat becomes vacant?
  3. 03
    Power and processRead majorities, government formation and law-making without political shorthand.
    Voting thresholdWhat a two-thirds majority meansConfidence and governmentHow a federal government is formedLegislative processHow a bill becomes law in MalaysiaConstitutional monarchyThe Yang di-Pertuan Agong
  4. 04
    Elections and the voteUnderstand who votes, how boundaries are set and what keeps a mandate with its party.
    Elections and the voteWho can vote and how voting worksElections and the voteHow electoral boundaries are drawnElections and the voteThe anti-party-hopping law
  5. 05
    Government machineryMeet the executive institutions that carry out what elections decide.
    Executive governmentThe federal government: Cabinet, ministries and agenciesState executiveState governments and the EXCOPermanent machineryThe civil service: who actually delivers services
Reference deskMalaysian political and election glossary

Executive government

The federal government: Cabinet, ministries and agencies

How the Cabinet, ministries, departments and statutory bodies fit together, and why ministry names change while their functions endure.

Direct answer

The federal executive is the Cabinet: the Prime Minister and ministers, collectively responsible to Parliament. Beneath that political layer sits permanent machinery in three tiers: ministries led by ministers, departments that deliver statutory functions, and statutory bodies created by their own Acts.

Worked example

Tracing one service to its owner

Renewing road tax happens at the Road Transport Department, a department under the Transport Ministry. The counter you visit belongs to the department; the ministry above it may change name, but the counter and its statutory function stay.

Sources: MyGovernment; Attorney General's Chambers

Political head
Prime Minister
Executive body
Cabinet (Jemaah Menteri)
Ministry administration
Secretary-General (KSU)
Civil service head
Chief Secretary (KSN)

The Cabinet is the political layer

Under Article 43 the Prime Minister is the Dewan Rakyat member judged to command the confidence of its majority, and other ministers are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the Prime Minister's advice from either House. The Cabinet decides policy and is collectively responsible to Parliament. Portfolios are created, merged and renamed by each administration, which is why the list of ministries changes between governments while the underlying functions continue.

  • The Prime Minister must be a member of the Dewan Rakyat; other ministers may come from either House.
  • The Cabinet is collectively responsible to Parliament for government decisions.
  • Ministry names and counts change at cabinet formations and reshuffles; the functions endure under new labels.
  • Each ministry pairs a political head, the minister, with an administrative head, the Secretary-General.

Sources: Attorney General's Chambers; Parliament of Malaysia

Ministries, departments and statutory bodies are different things

A ministry is a portfolio; the bodies citizens actually deal with sit beneath it. Departments such as the National Registration Department, the Road Transport Department and the Immigration Department deliver statutory functions inside their ministries. Statutory bodies such as the EPF and SOCSO are created by their own Acts of Parliament, with their own boards and legal identity, supervised by a ministry rather than run as part of it. The civil service that staffs all of this is permanent and politically neutral, coordinated by the Chief Secretary to the Government.

  • A department is the operational arm of a ministry and delivers services directly.
  • A statutory body has its own founding Act and board, under a ministry's supervision.
  • The civil service continues across changes of government; ministers change, departments do not.
  • When seeking help, the responsible department or agency matters more than the ministry's current name.

Sources: MyGovernment; Parliament of Malaysia

Common questions

Why do ministry names keep changing?

Each administration allocates portfolios when it forms a Cabinet, so ministries are created, merged and renamed. The statutory functions and the departments that deliver them continue under the new labels.

Are ministers civil servants?

No. Ministers are politicians drawn from Parliament and change with governments. The civil service is a permanent, politically neutral service headed by the Chief Secretary to the Government.

What is a statutory body?

A body created by its own Act of Parliament, such as the EPF or SOCSO, with its own board and legal identity. It is supervised by a ministry but is not a department of it.