The Selangor State Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of the Malaysian state of Selangor. The State Assembly is composed of 56 members representing single-member constituencies throughout the state. Elections are held no more than five years apart, and by Malaysian political convention, are conducted simultaneously with elections to the federal parliament and other state assemblies (except Sarawak).

It convenes at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building in the capital Shah Alam. Since 2008, Assembly proceedings have been broadcast live on the internet.

Current composition

Seating arrangement*

Role

As the state's legislative body, the Selangor State Legislative Assembly's main function is to enact laws that apply to Selangor, known as enactments. The Speaker presides over the Assembly's proceedings, and works to maintain order during debates. The present Speaker is Hannah Yeoh from the Democratic Action Party in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

Legislative assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch. The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of other countries, with notable examples being that of the Australian States, which each have a legislative assembly as a Lower House.

Legislative assemblies in the Commonwealth

The modern-day legislative assembly in a Commonwealth country, either as a national or sub-national parliament, is in most cases an evolution of one of these colonial legislative chambers.

In a number of territories, the name House of Assembly is used instead.

Examples of legislative assemblies in Commonwealth countries

In India, the lower or sole house of each constituent state's parliament is called the legislative assembly, or Vidhan Sabha. The same name is also used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the union territories, Delhi and Puducherry. The upper house in the seven states with a bicameral legislature is called the legislative council, or Vidhan Parishad. Members of the former are called MLAs, and those of the latter MLCs.

Legislative assembly may refer to:

The Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Legislature in British Guiana between 1961 and 1964.

History

A new constitution was promulgated on 18 July 1961, replacing the unicameral Legislative Council with the Legislature. The new body consisted of a 13-member Senate and a 36-member Legislative Assembly. Whilst the 13 members of the Senate were nominated, the Legislative Assembly was elected, and consisted of 35 members elected in single-member constituencies, and a Speaker elected by the elected MPs.

Elections to the new Legislature were held on 21 August 1961. The People's Progressive Party (PPP) won 20 seats, the People's National Congress (PNC) won 11 and the United Force four. Both houses convened for the first time on 5 October 1961, when members elected Rahman Baccus Gajraj as Speaker.

Although the PPP had only received 1.6% more of the vote than the PNC, it won almost double the number of seats. This resulted in mass demonstrations led by the PNC, a general strike and severe inter-racial violence. A few weeks after the elections the British authorities intervened by sending in troops and the Governor declared a state of emergency.

A state legislative assembly (Malay: Dewan Undangan Negeri, DUN; also known simply as state assembly) is the legislative branch of the state governments of each of the 13 Malaysian states. Members of a state legislative assembly comprises elected representatives from single-member constituencies during state elections through the first-past-the-post system.

The assemblies have powers to enact state laws as provided for by the Constitution of Malaysia. The majority party in each assembly forms the state government, and the leader of the majority party becomes menteri besar (for states with hereditary rulers) or chief minister (for states without hereditary rulers) of the state. After the March 2008 general election, the Barisan Nasional coalition were the majority party in eight states, while the opposition won five states. In February 2009, BN regained Perak after 3 Pakatan Rakyat assembly members defected.

The state legislative assemblies are unicameral, unlike the bicameral Parliament of Malaysia. The hereditary rulers or Yang di-Pertua Negeri (governors) are vested with powers to dissolve their respective state legislative assemblies on the advice of the menteri besar or chief minister. Once dissolved, elections must be carried out within an interim period of sixty (60) days. Usually, state elections are held simultaneously with the federal parliamentary elections, with the exception of Sarawak, and before 2004, Sabah.

Selangor /səˈlæŋə/ also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity" is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west. It surrounds the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, both of which were once under Selangor's territorial sovereignty.

The state capital is Shah Alam, however the first city in Selangor, and the royal capital is Klang. Another major urban centre is Petaling Jaya which was awarded city status on 20 June 2006. Selangor is one of only two Malaysian states with more than one city; the other is Sarawak. Selangor has the largest city in Malaysia and it is growing rapidly due to modernisation in the Klang Valley.

The state of Selangor has the largest economy in Malaysia in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) with RM 128.815 billion (roughly USD 42 billion) in 2010 making up 23% of the total GDP of Malaysia. This state is also the most developed in Malaysia with good infrastructure such as highways and transport. The state also has the largest population in Malaysia, with a high standard of living and the state's poverty rate is the lowest in the country.