Prime Minister of Malaysia

The prime minister of Malaysia (Template:Langx; Template:Langx) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a member of Parliament (MP) who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs. The prime minister is usually the leader of the party winning the most seats in a general election.

After the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Tunku Abdul Rahman, whom was the chief minister of the Federation of Malaya at the time, became the first prime minister of Malaysia.

The current prime minister is Anwar Ibrahim, who was elected in the 2022 Malaysian general election.

Appointment

The prime minister's office at Perdana Putra, Putrajaya

According to the Federal Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint a prime minister to preside over the Cabinet. The prime minister is to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives), and must have the confidence of the majority of the members of that House. This person must be a Malaysian citizen, but cannot have obtained their citizenship by means of naturalisation or registration. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint other ministers from either the Dewan Rakyat or Dewan Negara (Senate) with the prime minister's advice.

The prime minister and his/her cabinet ministers must take and subscribe to the oath of office and allegiance as well as the oath of secrecy in the presence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before they can exercise functions of office. The Cabinet is collectively accountable to the Parliament of Malaysia. The members of the Cabinet shall not hold any office of profit and engage in any trade, business or profession that will cause a conflict of interest. The Prime Minister's Department (sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister's Office) is the body and ministry in which the prime minister exercises his/her functions and powers.

In the case where a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or when the House passes a no confidence vote in the government, the prime minister is bound by convention to resign immediately. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong's choice of replacement prime minister will be dictated by the circumstances. All other ministers shall continue to hold office by the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless if the appointment of any minister is revoked by his/her majesty upon the advice of the prime minister. Any minister may resign his/her office.

Following a resignation in other circumstances, defeat in an election, or the death of a prime minister, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would generally appoint as the new leader of the governing party or coalition as new Prime Minister.

Malaysia uses a first-past-the-post-voting system, which means a party or coalition will lead a government if they manage to gain 112 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Powers

Template:See also The power of the prime minister is subject to a number of limitations. Prime ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives, must advise a new election of the lower house or resign the office. The defeat of a supply bill (one that concerns the spending of money) or unable to pass important policy-related legislation is seen to require the resignation of the government or dissolution of Parliament, much like a non-confidence vote, since a government that cannot spend money is hamstrung, also called loss of supply.

The prime minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Malaysian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the House of Representatives is mostly a formality.

Under the Constitution, the prime minister's role includes advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on:

• the appointment of the federal ministers (full members of cabinet);
• the appointment of the federal deputy ministers, parliamentary secretaries (non-full members of cabinet);
• the appointment of 44 out of 70 Senators in the Dewan Negara;
• the summoning and adjournment of sittings of the Dewan Rakyat;
• the appointment of judges of the superior courts (which are the High Courts, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court);
• the appointment of the attorney-general and the auditor-general; and
• the appointment of the chairmen and members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, Election Commission, Police Force Commission, Education Service Commission, National Finance Council, and Armed Forces Council;

Under Article 39 of the Constitution, executive authority is vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. However, Article 40(1) states that in most cases, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is bound to exercise his powers on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister acting under the Cabinet's general authority. Thus, in practice, actual governing authority is vested in the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Acting prime minister

From time to time, prime ministers are required to leave the country on business and a deputy is appointed to take their place during that time. In the days before jet aeroplanes, such absences could be for extended periods. However, the position can be fully decided by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the king of Malaysia when the position remains empty following the sudden resignation or death of the prime minister.Template:Citation needed

Caretaker prime minister

Under Article 55(3) of Constitution of Malaysia, the lower house of Parliament, unless sooner dissolved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with his own discretion on the advice of the prime minister, shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting. Article 55(4) of the Constitution permits a delay of 60 days in the holding of the general election from the date of dissolution and Parliament shall be summoned to meet on a date not later than 120 days from the date of dissolution. Conventionally, between the dissolution of one Parliament and the convening of the next, the prime minister and the cabinet remain in office in a caretaker capacity.Template:Citation needed

List of prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political coalitions/parties):

Template:Legend2 (2) Template:Legend2 (6) Template:Legend2 (2) Template:Legend2 (1)

#	Portrait	Prime Minister Template:Small	Term of office			MandateTemplate:Efn	PartyTemplate:Efn		Government	Monarch(s)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Template:Small Tunku Abdul Rahman Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 1957	Template:Small 1970	Template:Ayd	1955	rowspan="4" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	Alliance (UMNO)	Rahman I	Abdul Rahman Hisamuddin Putra Ismail Nasiruddin Abdul Halim
						1959	Rahman II
						1964	Rahman III
						1969	Rahman IV
2		Template:Small Abdul Razak Hussein Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 1970	Template:Small 1976Template:Efn	Template:Ayd	Template:Ndash	bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	Alliance (UMNO)	Razak I	Abdul Halim Yahya Petra
						1974	bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	BN (UMNO)	Razak II
3	File:Tun Hussein Onn.jpg	Template:Small Hussein Onn Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 1976	Template:Small 1981	Template:Ayd	Template:Ndash	rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	BN (UMNO)	Hussein I	Yahya Petra Ahmad Shah
						1978	Hussein II
4		Template:Small Mahathir Mohamad Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 1981	Template:Small 2003	Template:Ayd	—	rowspan="6" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	BN (UMNO)	Mahathir I	Ahmad Shah Iskandar Azlan Shah Ja'afar Salahuddin Sirajuddin
						1982	Mahathir II
						1986	Mahathir III
						1990	Mahathir IV
						1995	Mahathir V
						1999	Mahathir VI
5		Template:Small Template:Nowrap Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 2003	Template:Small 2009	Template:Ayd	—	rowspan="3" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	BN (UMNO)	Abdullah I	Sirajuddin Mizan Zainal Abidin
						2004	Abdullah II
						2008	Abdullah III
6		Template:Small Mohd Najib Abdul Razak Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 2009	Template:Small 2018	Template:Ayd	—	rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	BN (UMNO)	Najib I	Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim Muhammad V
						2013	Najib II
7		Template:Small Mahathir Mohamad Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 2018	Template:Small 2020	Template:Ayd	2018	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	PH (BERSATU)	Mahathir VII	Muhammad V Abdullah
Template:Small										Abdullah
8		Template:Small Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 2020	Template:Small 2021	Template:Ayd	—	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	PN (BERSATU)	Muhyiddin
Template:Small
9		Template:Small Ismail Sabri Yaakob Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 2021	Template:Small 2022	Template:Ayd	—	bgcolor="Template:Party color"|	BN (UMNO)	Ismail Sabri
10		Template:Small Anwar Ibrahim Template:Lang Template:Small	Template:Small 2022	Incumbent	Template:Ayd	(2022)	bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	PH (PKR)	Anwar	Abdullah Ibrahim Iskandar

Timeline

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 id:lightpurple  value:lightpurple legend:ALLIANCE
 id:blue  value:blue legend:BN
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 width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Abtunrah
 from: 31/08/1957 till: 22/09/1970 color:lightpurple text:"Tunku Abdul Rahman" fontsize:8
bar:Abrahus
 from: 22/09/1970 till: 31/05/1974 color:lightpurple
 from: 01/06/1974 till: 14/01/1976 color:blue text:"Abdul Razak Hussein" fontsize:8
bar:Husonn
 from: 15/01/1976 till: 16/07/1981 color:blue text:"Hussein Onn" fontsize:8
bar:Mamo
 from: 16/07/1981 till: 31/10/2003 color:blue fontsize:8
bar:Paklah
 from: 31/10/2003 till: 03/04/2009 color:blue text:"Abdullah Ahmad Badawi" fontsize:8
bar:Najibraz
 from: 03/04/2009 till: 09/05/2018 color:blue text:"Mohd Najib Abdul Razak" fontsize:8
bar:Mamo
 from: 10/05/2018 till: 24/02/2020 color:red text:"Mahathir Mohamad" fontsize:8
bar:Abah
 from: 01/03/2020 till: 16/08/2021 color:darkblue text:"Muhyiddin Yassin" fontsize:8
bar:Ismail
 from: 21/08/2021 till: 24/11/2022 color:blue text:"Ismail Sabri Yaakob" fontsize:8
bar:Anwar
 from: 24/11/2022 till:  end color:red text:"Anwar Ibrahim" fontsize:8

</timeline>

List of acting prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political parties):

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Notes	Political Party
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |		Abdul Razak Hussein Template:Small	19 August 1959	19 November 1959	Abdul Razak Hussein was the acting prime minister after the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, stepped down as prime minister for three months in 1959 to strengthen his party, the Alliance Party for the 1959 federal elections.	Alliance Party (UMNO)
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |		Ismail Abdul Rahman Template:Small	22 September 1970	22 September 1970	Ismail Abdul Rahman occasionally acted as acting prime minister when Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak Hussein were abroad.
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |		V. T. Sambanthan Template:Small	3 August 1973	13 August 1973	V. T. Sambanthan was called to serve as acting prime minister and chair the cabinet meeting for a day when the former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein was overseas and his deputy Ismail Abdul Rahman had died.	Alliance Party (MIC)
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |		Ling Liong Sik Template:Small	4 February 1988	16 February 1988	Became the new chairman of the Barisan Nasional coalition, alongside as the acting prime minister for a few days.	Barisan Nasional (MCA)
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |		Anwar Ibrahim Template:Small	19 May 1997	19 July 1997	Served as the acting prime minister whilst Mahathir Mohamad was on vacation.	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)

List of interim or caretaker prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political parties):

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Notes	Political Party
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Error creating thumbnail:	Mahathir Mohamad Template:Small	24 February 2020	1 March 2020	Appointed during the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis by at the time King of Malaysia Abdullah of Pahang. Prior to his appointment, there were no mentions of an interim prime minister in the Constitution of Malaysia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU)
bgcolor="Template:Party color" |	Error creating thumbnail:	Muhyiddin Yassin Template:Small	16 August 2021	21 August 2021	Appointed during the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis by at the time King of Malaysia Abdullah of Pahang.	Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)

List of prime ministers by time in office

This is a list of prime minister of Malaysia by time in office. The listed number of days is calculated as the difference between dates, which counts the number of calendar days except the last day. The length of a full prime ministerial term of office usually varies according to when the two former and latter general elections are held. If the last day is included, all numbers would be one day more, except Mahathir Mohamad would have two more days, as he served two non-consecutive terms.

Of the individuals appointed prime minister of Malaysia, one died in office (Abdul Razak Hussein), five resigned from office (Tunku Abdul Rahman, Hussein Onn, Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Muhyiddin Yassin) and two lost reelection (Najib Razak and Ismail Sabri Yaakob).

Ismail Sabri Yaakob is spending the shortest time in office, while Mahathir spent the longest. Mahathir is the only Malaysian prime minister to have served more than three full terms.

Mahathir is the only prime minister to leave office and return for a second non-consecutive term. Consequently, while there have been 10 prime ministerships in the nation's history, only 9 people have been sworn into office as Mahathir is numbered as both the 4th and 7th prime minister.

• Longest and shortest prime ministerships
• 
  Template:Center
• 
  Template:Center

Rank	Prime minister	Length in days	Order of prime ministership	Number of terms
1	Mahathir Mohamad	8,805Template:Efn	Template:SortTemplate:Efn	One partial term (9 months, and 10 days) followed by four full terms and two non-consecutive partial terms (3 years, 11 months, and 2 days) and (1 year, 9 months, and 20 days)
2	Tunku Abdul Rahman	Template:Age in days nts	Template:Sort	Three full termsTemplate:Efn followed by one partial term (4 months, 12 days)
3	Najib Razak	Template:Age in days nts	Template:Sort	One partial term (4 years, 1 month, and 2 days) followed by one full term
4	Hussein Onn	Template:Age in days nts	Template:Sort	Two partial terms (2 years, 6 months, and 7 days) and (2 years, 11 months, and 24 days)
5	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi	Template:Age in days nts	Template:Sort	One partial term (4 months, and 21 days) followed by one full term and one partial term (1 year, and 26 days)
6	Abdul Razak Hussein	Template:Age in days nts	Template:Sort	Two partial terms (3 years, 11 months, and 23 days) and (1 year, and 4 months)
7	Anwar Ibrahim	Template:Age in days ntsTemplate:Efn	Template:Sort	Currently serving
8	Muhyiddin Yassin	Template:Age in days nts	Template:SortTemplate:Efn	One partial term (1 year, 5 months, and 20 days)
9	Ismail Sabri Yaakob	Template:Age in days nts	Template:Sort	One partial term (1 year, 3 months, and 3 days)

List of prime ministers by age

This is a list of prime ministers of Malaysia by age. The table charts the age of each prime minister of Malaysia at the time of prime ministerial inauguration (first inauguration if elected to multiple and consecutive terms), upon leaving office, and at the time of death. Where the prime minister is still living, their lifespan is calculated up to Template:FULLDATE.

The youngest person to assume the prime ministership was Abdul Razak Hussein, who, at the age of 48, succeeded to the office after the resignation of Tunku Abdul Rahman. The oldest person to assume the prime ministership was Mahathir Mohamad (as the 7th prime minister), who took the prime ministerial oath of office 62 days before turning 93.

Died at age 53, Abdul Razak was also the youngest prime minister at the end of his tenure, and his lifespan was the shortest of any prime minister. At age 59, Hussein Onn was the youngest person to become a former prime minister. The oldest prime minister at the end of his tenure was Mahathir (as the 7th prime minister) at 94. Mahathir was born before his two predecessors (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi & Najib Razak) (as the 7th prime minister).

Ismail Sabri Yaakob is having the shortest retirement of any prime minister, after leaving office at age 62. Tunku's retirement, 20 years, is the longest in Malaysian prime ministerial history. At age Template:Age, Mahathir is also the oldest living prime minister as well as the nation's longest-lived prime minister. He is the only Malaysian prime minister to have lived into his 90s. The youngest living prime minister is Ismail Sabri Yaakob, age Template:Age.

Template:Abbr	Prime minister	Born	Age at Template:Nowrap	Age at Template:Nowrap	Template:Nowrap timespan	Lifespan
						Died	Age
1	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd
2	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:AydTemplate:Efn	2026-01-1414 Jan 1976	Template:Ayd
3	Hussein Onn	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd
4	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:AydTemplate:Efn	(Living)	Template:Ayd
5	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	2026-01-1414 Apr 2025	Template:Ayd
6	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	2026-01-14(Living)	Template:Ayd
7	Mahathir Mohamad	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	2026-01-14(Living)	Template:Ayd
8	Muhyiddin Yassin	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	2026-01-14(Living)	Template:Ayd
9	Ismail Sabri Yaakob	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	2026-01-14(Living)	Template:Ayd
10	Anwar Ibrahim	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd Template:Dts	(Incumbent)	(Incumbent)	2026-01-14(Living)	Template:Ayd
#	Prime minister	Born	Age at Template:Nowrap	Age at Template:Nowrap	Template:Nowrap timespan	Died	Age

Living former prime ministers

Prime ministers are usually granted certain privileges after leaving office at government expense. Former prime ministers continue to be important national figures. The most recently deceased prime minister was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (1939–2025), who died on 14 April 2025.

• Living former prime ministers
• 
  Template:Center
• 
  Template:Center
• 
  Muhyiddin Yassin
  Served 2020–2021
  (age Template:Age)
• 
  Template:Center

See also

• Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
• Air transports of heads of state and government
• Official state car
• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
• Leader of the Opposition (Malaysia)
• Heads of state governments of Malaysia

References

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