Official name

Federation of Malaysia

Form of state

Federated constitutional monarchy

The executive

The king appoints a prime minister and, on the prime minister's advice, the cabinet

Head of state

The yang di-pertuan agong (king or supreme sovereign), elected by and from among the nine hereditary rulers of Malaysia's states. In practice, the post is rotated every five years

National legislature

Bicameral federal parliament. The Senate (Dewan Negara, the upper house) has 70 members-26 elected from the state legislatures, and 44 appointed by the king. The House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat, the lower house) has 222 directly elected members. Senators serve six-year terms and members of the lower house five-year terms

State government

There are state governments in each of Malaysia's 13 states, in nine of which the head of state is a hereditary ruler. Each state has its own constitution, a council of state or cabinet with executive authority and a legislature that deals with matters not reserved for the federal parliament. There are also three federal territories, namely Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya

National elections

March 2008; the next general election is due to be held by April 2013

National government

The Barisan Nasional (BN), the governing 13-party coalition-the main element of which is the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)-currently holds 137 of the 222 seats in the lower house. The BN has the simple majority that it needs in order to pass legislation but not the two-thirds majority that would enable it to amend the constitution

Main political organisations

Government-the main parties in the BN are UMNO, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan), Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PPBB) and the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).

Opposition-the three parties in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance are the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)

Prime minister & finance minister: Najib Razak

Deputy prime minister & education minister: Muhyiddin Yassin

Key ministers

Agriculture: Noh Omar

Defence: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Domestic trade & consumer affairs: Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Energy, green technology & water: Peter Chin Fah Kui

Foreign affairs: Anifah Aman

Health: Liow Tiong Lai

Home affairs: Hishammuddin Hussein

Housing & local government: Chor Chee Heung

Information: Rais Yatim

International trade & industry: Mustapa Mohamed

Public works: Shaziman Abu Mansor

Science, technology & innovation: Maximus Ongkili

Second finance minister: Ahmad Husni Hanadzlan

Tourism: Ng Yen Yen

Transport: Kong Cho Ha

Central bank governor

Zeti Akhtar Aziz