Politics of Malaysia
- Conventional Long Form Name: None
- Capital City: Kuala Lumpur
- Type of Government: Constitutional Monarchy
- Date of Independence: 31 August 1957
- National Holiday(s): Independence Day (31 August), Malaysia Day - The formation of Malaysia (16 September)
- Chief of State: King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Mohamed Najub bin Abdul Najib Razak
- Executive Branch/Powers: Kings are elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five year terms; selection is based on the principle of rotation among rulers of state; prime ministers are designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader who commands the support of the majority of the House becomes the prime minister.
- Legislative Branch/Powers: Bicameral Parliament or Palimen consists of Senate or Dewan Negara and House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat.
- Judicial Branch/Powers: Highest Court is the Federal Court. Malaysia has a dual judicial hereditary of civil and religious courts. Federal Court justices appointed by the monarch on advice of the prime ministers; judges serve till age 65.
- Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
- Ambassador to the U.S.: Othman Hashim
- Embassy to the U.S.: Kuala Lumpur
- Location of consulate(s) in the U.S.: Los Angelos, New York
- U.S. Ambassador: Ambassador Joseph Y Yun
- Location of the U.S. Embassy: Kuala Lumpur
- Location of U.S. Consulate(s): Kuala Lumpur
- Representative to the UN: Hussein Haniff
- Symbolism of Flag: The flag is often referred to as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory), the 14 stripes stand for the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government, the 14 points on the star represent the unity between these entities; the crescent is a tradition symbol of Islam, blue symbolizes the unity of the Malay people and yellow is the royal color of Malay rulers.
- National Anthem:
- National Symbol(s): Tiger
- International Disputes: While the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in 2008, ICJ awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh/Horsburgh Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to Malaysia, but did not rule on maritime regimes, boundaries, or disposition of South Ledge; land and maritime negotiations with Indonesia are ongoing, and disputed areas include the controversial Tanjung Datu and Camar Wulan border area in Borneo and the maritime boundary in the Ambalat oil block in the Celebes Sea; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; per Letters of Exchange signed in 2009, Malaysia in 2010 ceded two hydrocarbon concession blocks to Brunei in exchange for Brunei's sultan dropping claims to the Limbang corridor, which divides Brunei; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait.
- Quantity of refugees inside country: 86,671
- Country(ies) of origin of refugee: Burma
- Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: N/A
- Quantity of Stateless Persons: 40,001
- Current Human Trafficking Issues: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for women and children subjected to conditions of forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; Malaysia is mainly a destination country for foreign workers who migrate willingly from countries including Indonesia, Nepal, India, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam but subsequently encounter forced labor or debt bondage at the hands of their employers in the domestic, agricultural, construction, plantation, and industrial sectors; a small number of Malaysian citizens were reportedly trafficked internally and abroad to Singapore, China, and Japan for commercial sexual exploitation; refugees are also vulnerable to trafficking; some officials are reportedly complicit in facilitating trafficking.
- Illicit Drug Trafficking: Drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties; heroin still primary drug of abuse, but synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to a lesser extent, the regional drug market.