Generally, a Prime Minister is the Chief Administrator or Chief Executive for the executive branch in a parliamentary democratic government. In Malaysia, however, besides being the Chief Administrator, the Prime Minister is also functioning as the Head of Policymaker for the legislative branch. This is so due to the fact that Malaysia is using the British Parliamentary system as its model of government. The British Parliamentary system requires that the executive, i.e the Prime Minister and Cabinet, must be members of the legislature. This is quite unique in Malaysian political setting as far as the Montesquieu’s theory of Separation of Powers is concerned where the political doctrine advocates a complete separation of the three branches of government i.e legislature, executive, and judiciary. Separation of powers is a political doctrin associated with the 18th century philosopher Montesquieu who argued that, to avoid tyranny, the three branches of government should be separated as far as possible, and their relationships governed by checks and balances. The US Constitution in particular is often regarded as a practical example of an attempt at separation of powers whereas parliamentary systems such as that of the UK do not have a complete separation (Crystal, 1994:997). And how about education, e.g. the universities? Should the Government leave universities alone, as suggested by some people, such as this one?
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Separation of Powers
Generally, a Prime Minister is the Chief Administrator or Chief Executive for the executive branch in a parliamentary democratic government. In Malaysia, however, besides being the Chief Administrator, the Prime Minister is also functioning as the Head of Policymaker for the legislative branch. This is so due to the fact that Malaysia is using the British Parliamentary system as its model of government. The British Parliamentary system requires that the executive, i.e the Prime Minister and Cabinet, must be members of the legislature. This is quite unique in Malaysian political setting as far as the Montesquieu’s theory of Separation of Powers is concerned where the political doctrine advocates a complete separation of the three branches of government i.e legislature, executive, and judiciary. Separation of powers is a political doctrin associated with the 18th century philosopher Montesquieu who argued that, to avoid tyranny, the three branches of government should be separated as far as possible, and their relationships governed by checks and balances. The US Constitution in particular is often regarded as a practical example of an attempt at separation of powers whereas parliamentary systems such as that of the UK do not have a complete separation (Crystal, 1994:997). And how about education, e.g. the universities? Should the Government leave universities alone, as suggested by some people, such as this one?
