# 1. Apart from Parliament, are there any other bodies in Malaysia that have the power to enact law?
In Malaysia, the primary legislative body at the federal level is the Parliament, which is responsible for creating laws for the entire Federation. However, due to Malaysia’s constitutional structure as a federation, law-making power is not exclusively held by Parliament. This essay will demonstrate that, besides Parliament, there are indeed other bodies that possess the authority to enact law. These powers are principally exercised by the State Legislative Assemblies, as established by the Federal Constitution, and by various administrative and professional bodies through the mechanism of delegated legislation.
## State Legislative Assemblies
Malaysia is a federation comprising thirteen states and three federal territories. This federal structure divides legislative power between the central government and the state governments. The Federal Constitution explicitly grants law-making authority to the legislative body of each state, known as the State Legislative Assembly or *Dewan Undangan Negeri* (Wan Arfah, 2017).
The source of this power is found in Articles 73 and 74 of the Federal Constitution. Article 74, read together with the Ninth Schedule, outlines the specific subject matters on which the states can legislate. The Ninth Schedule contains three lists: the Federal List (List I), the State List (List II), and the Concurrent List (List III). State Legislative Assemblies have the primary authority to enact laws on matters specified in the State List. These matters include, for example, Islamic law pertaining to persons professing the religion of Islam, land tenure, agriculture, forestry, and local government (Federal Constitution, Ninth Schedule, List II). Laws passed by State Legislative Assemblies are called ‘Enactments’, except in Sarawak where they are referred to as ‘Ordinances’. For matters on the Concurrent List, such as social welfare and town planning, both Parliament and the State Assemblies may legislate, although federal law will prevail in the event of any conflict (Federal Constitution, Art 75). Therefore, the State Legislative Assemblies are significant law-making bodies in their own right, operating in parallel to the Federal Parliament.
## Delegated Legislation
A second category of non-parliamentary law-making comes from delegated (or subsidiary) legislation. This refers to law made by persons or bodies under powers delegated to them by an Act of Parliament or a State Enactment, which is known as the parent Act (Wan Arfah, 2017). Parliament and State Assemblies do not have the time or technical expertise to legislate on every detailed aspect of modern governance. Consequently, they often enact broad legal frameworks and delegate the authority to fill in the details to other bodies.
These law-making bodies can include Government Ministers, statutory bodies, local authorities (such as City Councils or Municipal Councils), and professional regulatory bodies. For instance, the Local Government Act 1976 is a parent Act passed by Parliament that empowers local authorities to create ‘by-laws’ for matters within their jurisdiction, such as public health, sanitation, and traffic control. Similarly, a Minister may be empowered by a parent Act to issue ‘rules’ or ‘regulations’ to implement the provisions of that Act. These rules, regulations, and by-laws are legally binding and form a substantial part of Malaysian law. While this power is extensive, it is not without limits. The validity of any delegated legislation is dependent on it being made within the scope of the powers conferred by the parent Act, and it can be challenged in court through judicial review if it goes beyond those powers (*ultra vires*).
In conclusion, while Parliament is the supreme legislative authority at the federal level in Malaysia, it is not the sole law-making body. The country’s federal system provides constitutionally-enshrined legislative powers to the State Legislative Assemblies to enact laws on state-specific matters. Furthermore, a vast body of law is created through delegated legislation, where powers are conferred by Parliament and State Assemblies upon ministers, local authorities, and other bodies to make detailed rules and regulations.
## References
- Federal Constitution of Malaysia.
- Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171).
- Wan Arfah Hamzah. (2017) A First Look at the Malaysian Legal System. Oxford Fajar.
