This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system of Parliament. It consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives or literally "People's Hall") and the Dewan Negara (literally "Nation's Hall"; commonly referred to as the Senate). Members of the Dewan Rakyat are known as members of Parliament (MPs) while members of the Dewan Negara are called senators.
A general election is held every four or five years to elect representatives to the Dewan Rakyat; members of the Dewan Negara, like those of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, are appointed. Members of Parliament are commonly referred to as MPs.
The Parliament assembles in the Malaysian Houses of Parliament, located in the national capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

Constitution
Social contract
Yang di-Pertuan Agong

• Mizan Zainal Abidin
  Cabinet
  
  
  
  • Prime Minister
    
    
    
    • Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
      Deputy Prime Minister
      
      
      
      • Najib Tun Razak
        Parliament
        
        
        
        • Dewan Negara
          Dewan Rakyat
          Judiciary
          The Opposition
          Elections
          
          
          
          • Election Commission
            Political parties
            States
            Foreign relations Scope
            Parliament meets from Monday to Thursday when it is in session, as Friday is part of the weekend in certain states such as Kelantan.
            
            Procedure
            In theory, based on the Constitution of Malaysia, the government is accountable to Parliament. However, there has been substantial controversy over the independence of the Malaysian Parliament, with many viewing it simply as a rubber stamp, approving the executive branch's decisions. Constitutional scholar Shad Saleem Faruqi has calculated that 80% of all bills the government introduced from 1991 to 1995 were passed without a single amendment. According to him, another 15% were withdrawn due to pressure from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or other countries, while only 5% were amended or otherwise altered by Parliament. Shad concludes that "the legislative process is basically an executive process, not a parliamentary process."
            
            Relationship with the government
            Theoretically, the executive branch of the government is held in check by the legislative and judiciary branches. Parliament largely exerts control on the government through question time, where MPs question members of the cabinet on government policy, and through Select Committees that are formed to look into a particular issue.
            Formally, Parliament exercises control over legislation and financial affairs. However, the legislature has been condemned as having a "tendency to confer wide powers on ministers to enact delegated legislation", and a substantial portion of the government's revenue is not under Parliament's purview; government-linked companies, such as Petronas, are generally not accountable to Parliament.
            
            Checks and balances
            In early October of 2005 the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of parliamentary affairs, Nazri Aziz, announced the formation of a Department of Parliament to oversee its day-to-day running. The leader of the Opposition, Lim Kit Siang, immediately announced a "Save Parliament" campaign to "ensure that Parliament does not become a victim in the second most serious assault on the doctrine of separation of powers in the 48-year history of the nation".
            
            Current composition
            
            Politics of Malaysia
            Malaysian Houses of Parliament