State legislature
What a state assembly does
Learn what a Malaysian State Legislative Assembly does, how ADUNs are elected and how state responsibilities differ from federal responsibilities.Direct answer
Each Malaysian state has a State Legislative Assembly, commonly called the DUN. Voters elect an ADUN for each state constituency, and the assembly makes state laws on subjects assigned to the state.
- Common name
- DUN
- Elected member
- ADUN
- Election
- State election
- Term
- Up to 5 years
A DUN is a legislature, not a local council
A state assembly debates and passes state enactments, approves state spending and holds the state executive to account. A local authority or PBT delivers municipal services within authority delegated and supervised at state level.
- ADUNs represent state constituencies.
- The state executive is formed through the constitutional arrangements of that state.
- The number of DUN seats and majority threshold differs by state.
State elections follow their own cycles
State assemblies do not all have to dissolve at the same time as Parliament or one another. This is why InfoUndi treats each state result as its own mandate rather than one national DUN election.
Common questions
Is an ADUN the same as an MP?
No. An MP sits in the federal Dewan Rakyat. An ADUN sits in a state legislative assembly.
Can state elections happen separately from a general election?
Yes. Each state assembly has its own constitutional term and dissolution process.
Does every Malaysian territory have a DUN?
The 13 states have state legislative assemblies. The Federal Territories do not have DUNs.