The separation of power

The Separation of Power and the parliament, executive and judiciary 1.0 The separation of power The concept of division of power (also known as the concept of separation of powers) starting since the time of old Greece. Aristotle was interested in the government coalition composed monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, in view of each element is itself not able to conduct operations on their own Governments, but a mixture of all three elements take the best aspects of each element. In 1656 James Harrington in his Oceana, has been updated and proposed the idea of this concept. John Locke, in "Civil Government, second treatise" in 1690, has divided the state into two of the executive and legislative. Meanwhile, Montesquieu in his "Spirit of the Laws" has developed the idea of Locke, by increasing the judicial branch. English is said to create the actual method of division is more formal, which they call the "Government Instrumen". The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. Under this model, the state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. For similar reasons, the concept of separation of church and state has been adopted in a number of countries, to varying degrees depending on the applicable legal structures and prevalent views toward the proper role of religion in society. The branches have different roles but interdependent with the other branches. For example, judges are appointed by the chief executive, while the law stemming from the legislative branch will be used by the judiciary to decide, while the executive is to enforce the law. This doctrine is also considerably strengthened by the check and balance the elements every body has limited authority and may examine and limit the powers of the body. Thus, a judge appointed by the Chief Executive although may sentence the law to the chief executive because the judiciary has judicial independence and judges are protected by judicial immunity. If this element is missing, then the division of powers than name only. The doctrine is very clear division of powers in the United States. There is every body to check abuses of power mutually to each other. In fact, every body has an element of checks and their equilibrium.

1.1

The Executive Executive also referred to the Government or the Government in Parliament and

referred to the Administration in the system for example in the United States Congress. This body is responsible for implementing the law passed by the legislature. The chief executive in a country called the Republic President, while other countries are called the prime minister. This body comprises many sectors of government such as the various ministries, departments, local governments and government agencies such as police organizations, military and customs. The executive is the oldest of all organs of government. The executive organ existed even five thousand years ago. There was no separate legislature or judiciary in ancient time. All power was integrated into one hand. Today the executive possesses great power and authority in any political system. The executive branch of government has remained at the centre of power of the government since groups began to form governments in society. Who are the Executive? In every political system the highest executive power remains in the hands of single individual or small elite. The composition of an executive is wide and it refers to the whole branch of the political system being in charge of the execution of the policies of the state, and being in charge of the determination of the general rules. In most countries executives are the top administration in any government offices. That means all government officials except those acting in legislative and judicial capacity. In this sense, it not only includes heads of government but also the entire staff of officials, high and low, connected with the administration of public affairs of the state. They are also known as civil servants. Political executive are either elected for a certain number of years as the U.S. President or remains in office as long as the party in which they belong can command majority in legislature as in Malaysia. The primary responsibility of the executive is to see that laws are properly enforced. In fact, both the two groups those who see that the laws are properly enforced and those who actually enforce them are really the two integral parts of the same machinery, which constitute the executive department.

Functions of the Executive The modern state is complex. Every state has to perform many functions to meet the needs of its citizen. The most fundamental functions of the executive are those which related to the essential activities of daily administration. The state is now regarded as a means for achieving the welfare of its own people. The executive department performs the main functions of the state. 1. Internal Administration.

The foremost duty of the executive department is to ensure law and order in society. It must maintain internal peace and security. For this the executive relies on a huge number of civil servants and police officials. The executives formulate the policies and once those policies are approved by legislature, it is the responsibility of the executive to implement those principles.

In all political systems public policy is the result of whatever executes want to do. Increasing or decreasing taxes, reducing or increasing defence budget, giving foreign aids to developing countries, funding for research and the like are all examples of public policies. After the adoption of the policies the executive oversees their implementation. The different departments and agencies are entrusted with specific responsibilities and every department executes the laws of the country which fall under its jurisdiction.

The top executive coordinates the activities of various departments and agencies. The top executive appoints secretaries and other top officials to head various departments. In the USA, secretaries are appointed by the president. In Malaysia, Canada and UK, the top secretaries are appointed by the Prime Minister who is the Real Chief Executive. The top executive defends the public policies through their speeches on radio and television, and in statements in press conferences and newspapers.

2. External Administration

All states are independent, but every state is interrelated with other states. The executive is responsible for ensuring mutual interaction among states for peace and

security. The executive responsibility lies in the Ministry of Foreign or External Affairs. The conduct of foreign relations includes the following: a) Sending and receiving diplomats b) Recognizing a new state c) Establishing or withdrawing diplomatic relations. d) Determining and implementing foreign policy e) Negotiating treaties and agreements.

3. Military Functions One of the essential responsibilities of the executive is to secure territorial integrity of the state and to protect the country from external aggression, and if necessary, to wage war. The top executive is the Chief of staff in every country of the world. However, the actual power is exercised by a Department under its control, called the Department of Defence and War, which determines the strength and organization of the armed forces of the country. During the war, the power of the executive increases immensely because the executive may take any action necessary to safeguard the security of the country. The executive may summon the army to protect the interests of the nation. 4. Legislative Functions The executive sometime performs some legislative functions. It summons, adjourns and prorogues the session of its legislature. It promulgates orders and ordinances. It is a sort of subsidiary power of legislation which takes the form of decrees. The Increased range of activities of the state has forced parliaments during recent years to delegated wide legislative power to the executive. This is called Delegated Legislation. This is quite inescapable in the modern state and it has significantly added to the powers of the executive. 5. Judicial Functions.

The executive often discharges some judicial functions. Usually in most governments the executive is required to keep an eye on the administration of courts and to

guarantee its citizen fairness and impartiality in justice. Therefore, the head of executive appoints the judges in most countries. Besides appointing judges, the executives have two important judicial powers: granting pardons and granting amnesty.

The most important judicial power of the executive is the power of granting pardon to a convicted person. The king of Malaysia has this power. This also prevents possible judicial malpractice. Another power of the executive in judicial matters is to grant amnesty to a group of persons, usually political offenders.

6. Other Functions

The above functions are regarded as essential functions. In addition to these, the executive performs other functions. First, the various department and agencies offer services and licensing functions to the people. The departments of commerce, education, agriculture, transport and communications offer public utility services and impose statutory restrictions on the production and sale of various commodities. Secondly, the top executive is the symbol of unity in the country. The King of Malaysia is above party politics. They foster both unity and continuity within a state. They are living symbols of the nation and acts for the country independently. Thirdly, the political executive head is at the centre of the functional leadership in all political systems. Every nations success depends on the high quality and competence of this leadership. The political executive must effectively lead the state and the people. The scope of the executive has increased so much. The annual thousands of Rules and Orders, the detailed and present plan of activity of all modern states, reveal how the state concentrates upon each individual and weaves his very impulse into the myriad threaded wrap of its existence. The state is everywhere, it leaves hardly a gap

1.2

The Judiciary

Thorough with the development of legal system, the judicial system has developed as well in all countries all over the world. Laws are implemented by means of judicial system, which is operated via courts system. The court system is different from country to country. However, regardless their disparities, there are certain well-accepted principles of court organization which are recognized by all countries (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83). The first similarity shared by the courts around the world is the range of the courts. Courts all over the world are leveled on an ascending scale, means that one above another. The right to appeal is fixed from the lower to the higher courts. The initial trial starts at Courts of Original Jurisdiction. Here, the court has power to hear a case for the first time. Facts and laws are judged and considered here. The plaintiff and the prosecution will submit the evidence as to support their contentions and this is considered as the facts of the case. After the evidence of both sides has decided, their respective lawyers will present the arguments and later the court will make the decision (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83). However, if either parties or one party is not satisfied, they have the right to appeal to the Courts of Appeal (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83). The Court of Appeal has the right to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. Besides, it is functioning to ensure that the law is being interpreted in substantially ways and to reverse decisions that seem to be based on an incorrect law interpretation. It will also scrutinize the law whether the law is applied correctly or vice versa. The final court in common court system is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court carries the powers of revision or termination as well as the power to annul the decision made by a court or judicial tribunal (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 83). The Functions of Judiciary The main purpose of the courts and judiciary is to ensure justices and make decision of disputes between individuals, citizens and the states. The primary function of the judiciary is to establish and determine facts (Moten & Serajul, 2004, p. 200) of cases. A case is remain vague before bringing to the court. This is the court's responsibility to find out and verify the facts in order to figure out the truth. The conflicting parties will bring forward witnesses as to generate evidences in order to support both the contentions of both parties. The witnesses can be in the form of writing, orally or both. The judge of the respective court will hear to those

witnesses and he will weigh the testimony. Finally, based on the evidences by witnesses, the court determines the facts (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 85). The second function of the court is, to interpret the laws. The judiciary is responsible to interpret laws and apply law to the facts that have been drawn from investigation and then render decisions. The judge's task is to accept the relevant law to the case as it is, and apply it to the determined facts. Thus, the judge is called as the interpreter of law (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 85). Upholding the constitution is another function of judiciary. Judiciary is the custodian of constitution. The court interprets the constitution and neither the national government nor the state government can pass a law that is not inline to the constitution. The court offers judgment in the case of disputes between central and regional government as well as between the executive and legislature. Judiciary will not let other parties to violate the constitution. (Serajul & Moten, 2005, p. 86). The court is also functioning in preventing the infraction of law and violation of human right. Common citizens can ask the court for it favors to protect them before the actual violation occurs. Citizens can appeal to the court if they believe that such attempts will violate their rights. The court has the power to issue orders (restraining orders) prohibiting such attempts until the rights of the citizens are determined. (Serajul & Moten, 2004, p. 202). The final and most important function of the court is judicial review. Judicial review means that the court has the power to declare any acts of executive or legislature as null and invalid if they are breaking or be in conflicting with constitution. Judicial review is a means for securing the supremacy and fundamental quality of the constitution. It has been adopted first by the United States of America to be practiced in several courts in that Uncle Sam country. (Serajul & Moten, 2004, p. 202).

Judicial Power and Separation of Power The freedom to exercise power by the judicial body can be seen from its separation of power from the other bodies of government, which are the executive and the legislative. The judicial power will not for either executive or legislative and it is very independent. There are three main functions of these three bodies and each of their function is separated from the other. The legislative has the power to make laws. The executive in the other hand has the power to enforce and police the laws. Yet, the judicial body has the power to expound and apply the laws as well as to interpret the laws. This is what we called as the separation of powers between the government bodies. Besides the separation of powers, there is another term, which is the fusion of powers. The fusion of powers is opposite to the separation of powers where the separated bodies will exercise the power of other bodies in certain cases. For example, the executive might make laws; a particular law since the executive and its administrators are more closes to public and they know what laws should be imposed on the public. Check and Balance Check and balance means that a system that allows each branch of a government to amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one of the branch from exerting too much power as well as abuses of power. The judicial power has the right to check and balance the power of the executive and the legislative. The judicial power can check over the executive and legislative power through the using of judicial review and judicial interpretation. By judicial review, the judicial power can check over the executive and legislative actions, whether such actions are violating the constitution or not. Besides, the judicial review may decide whether the laws made by the legislative are constitutional or unconstitutional. Judicial interpretation is the checked by the judicial power over the executive as to determine the validity and meaning of executive agency regulations. Meanwhile the judicial interpretation is checked over the legislative as to ensure what congressional laws mean and how they are applied in specific cases.

Does Judicial Power in Malaysia is separated? Governmental system either parliamentary or presidential system are basically adopted the separation of powers. In the case of Malaysia that running of parliamentary system, the term separation of powers is used frequently as to show that the three bodies of government are in total separation. Yet, frankly speaking, in terms of judicial system in Malaysia, the power of judiciary is not really separated and independent. As mentioned earlier, besides separation of powers, there is the fusion of powers, and in Malaysia, it does adopted fusion of powers in certain circumstances. It means, when there is fusion of powers, automatically the powers among three bodies are shared. For example, executives in Malaysian cabinet are also holding legislative position in the parliament. It is clearly shown that in Malaysia, the separation of powers among three important government bodies is still ambiguous. The judicial is not an independence body of government nor separated. Historically, the judicial power before the constitutional crisis 1988 was an independent branch of government. Yet, after 1988, the judiciary was made subject to Parliament by surrendering judicial powers to Parliament. The crisis started when the High Court approved Karpal Singh's application to be released from Operasi Lalang detention due to the technicalities in the way he had been detained. A week after, Mahathir (The 4th Prime Minister) submitted several constitutional amendments to the Parliament, denying the courts of the "judicial power of the Federation" and giving them only the judicial powers that Parliament might agree upon. Later, many conflicts came in until it brought to the suspension of Tun Salleh Abas, the Lord President of the Supreme Court. With the suspension of Tun Salleh Abas, the amendments to divest the courts of the "judicial power of the Federation" and the judicial power is granted by the parliament was continued. Thus, up until today, the judicial power is not so called independent. Nevertheless, the Attorney-General was conferred by the power to instruct the courts on what cases to hear, where they would be heard, and whether to discontinue a particular case.

1.3 The Legislature A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings. In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints a member from its house as the prime minister which acts as the executive. In a presidential system, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive. The primary components of a legislature are one or more chambers or houses: assemblies that debate and vote upon bills. A legislature with only one house is

called unicameral. A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which often differ in duties, powers, and the methods used for the selection of members. Much rarer have been tri cameral legislatures; the Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of caucasian-minority rule in South Africa. In most parliamentary systems, the lower house is the more powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However, in presidential systems, the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In federations, it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states; the same applies to the supranational legislature of the European Union. For this purpose, the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case in the European Union and in Germany and was the case in the United States before 1913, or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the modern United States. Because members of legislatures usually sit together in a specific room to deliberate, seats in that room may be assigned exclusively to members of the legislature. In parliamentary language, the term seat is sometimes used to mean that someone is a member of a legislature.

For example, saying that a legislature has 100 "seats" means that there are 100 members of the legislature, and saying that someone is "contesting a seat" means they are trying to get elected as a member of the legislature. By extension, the term seat is often used in less formal contexts to refer to an electoral district itself, as for example in the phrases "safe seat" and "marginal seat". Functions of the legislature: 1. Law-Making The main function of legislature is to make laws or to amend or replace old laws. In most modern systems laws are introduced in the form of bill by minister or a member of the legislature. However, discusses and debates the bill which goes through several readings and committee stages before becoming a law.

2. Representation Generally, the legislature in all democratic countries is considered to be the main forum of public opinion. The legislature represents the people in the government. Representation means making present of something absent but not making it literally present. It must be made present indirectly, through an intermediary; it must be made present in some sense, while nevertheless remaining literally absent. This is exactly what a legislature are the representatives of the public. They represent and ventilate the grievances of the people.

3. Supervision

The gradual increase in the power and authority of the executive has led the legislature to extend its authority of checking and supervising the executive branch of government. In a modern democratic system legislature keeps a sharp and critical eye on the administration. It may be true that legislation is initiated by the executive, but the legislature has the potential power to reject the bill. More importantly, even if it passes the bill, the legislature has the power to monitor the activities of the government to make sure that the law is implemented correctly and effectively.

4. Financial The legislature also performs certain financial functions. The fact of representative democracy is the control and regulation of national finances by the legislature. Generally, it is recognized today in all countries that no taxes should be levied or expenditure authorized without the approval of the representative of the people. The sources of income and heads of expenditure of the government are controlled and determined by the legislature.

The principal financial function of a legislature is the presentation, consideration and authorization of the budget. In every system the budget needs the approval of the legislature.

5. Electoral

The legislature acts as an electoral college to elect the top executive. For example, the Head of State. In India, the elected members of both houses of parliament form an electoral college for electing the president of the nation.

6. Judicial The legislature in many countries performs certain judicial functions. Some legislature has the power to adjudicate the behaviour of administrative officials. In Canada and Malaysia, Parliament does not impeach the King or ministers because it has the power of defeating a government by a vote of no-confidence or by removing a Minister from the cabinet who has been found guilty of a crime. 7. Inquest and interpellation. The legislature sometimes works as the organ of inquest. It make inquiries into matters of general interest. It often appoints commissions of inquiry relating to agriculture and industry or to find out the causes of social number

8. Amending the constitution. In some countries, the legislature plays the most important role in making and amending the constitution. The legislature is given this authority because it is consider being the legitimate representative institution of the people and also the original was drafted by the legislature. Legislature is usually involved in three types of methods of amending constitutions. One is by the direct vote of the legislature alone. In some countries it requires unanimous approval and in some certain specific legislative, the majority is necessary. The second method involves an amendment proposal by the legislature, followed by the ratification by a constitutional convention. The third method involves a proposal by the legislature, followed by the ratification of state. In Malaysia, Canada, Britain, India and the USA and in many other countries the amending process must start in the legislature. The approval of amendment depends on the support of certain number of members of the legislature which differs from country to country.

The Parliament of Malaysia Malaysia Practices Parliamentary Democracy with a Constitutional Monarchy. Our Parliamentary Democratic System Comprises of Three Main Branches which is Legislative, Executive, Judiciary Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the country. Parliament is made up of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat.

1.

The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the Supreme Head of State. His Majesty is elected by the Conference of Rulers and holds office for five years. However the King does not preside over both houses, Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat but addresses the two Houses as and when necessary. By convention, this is only done at the beginning of each Parliamentary Session, which commences each year.

2.

Dewan Negara (The Senate) Dewan Negara comprises 70 members of which 2 members are elected by each of the 13 State Legislative Assemblies and 44 are appointed by His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong for their experience and wisdom or represent ethnic minorities, profession, commerce and other groups. A full term of office of a Senator is 3 years and could be extended to 2 terms. Dewan Negara is not affected by the dissolution of Parliament.

3.

Dewan Rakyat (The House Of Representatives) Dewan Rakyat has 222 members, each representing one constituency. Election of members is held every 5 years. The number of members of the Barisan Nasional Componant Parties is 137. The opposition parties consist of 78 members and 7 independents.

Distribution of Seats GOVERNMENT United Malays National Organization (UMNO) 78 Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) 15 Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak (PBB) 14 Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC) 3 Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) 6 Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (PGRM) 2 Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) 3 United Pasuk Momogun Kadazan Dusun Organization (UPKO) 4 OPPOSITION Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) 26 INDEPENDENT 7

Democratic Action Party (DAP) 28

Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS) 23

Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) 1

Sarawak Progresive Democratic Partiy (SPDP) 4 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 1 Parti Barisan Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) 1 Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) 6 Total

137

78

Function of Parliament 1. To Pass laws 2. To Make amendments of existing laws 3. To Approve new taxes 4. To Examine the Governments policies 5. To Approve the Governments expenditure/spending At the beginning of each year, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong declares open to Parliament. In his Royal Address, His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong outlines the national progress and future development policies. How a Bill Become Law Before a Bill becomes law and an Act of Parliament it has to go through the following stages: BILL

FIRST READING (Reading of the long title)

SECOND READING General principles of the bill are debated. Voting by simple majority (by voice) or 2/3 majority through divisions.

COMMITTEE STAGE Specific Debate on all clauses, schedule and preambles will take place. Amendments will be dealt with.

THIRD READING Voting for second time. Long title will be read and passed by the House.

ROYAL ASSENT

GAZETTED AND PRINTED

LAW * Similar procedures apply in both Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat. However in Dewan Negara, the Money Bill will not pass through committee stage and will go straight to third reading.

Yang Di-Pertua Dewan Negara (The President of The Senate) The Yang di-Pertua of the Dewan Negara is responsible for the Dewan Negara and will regulate proceeding according to the Standing Orders of the Dewan Negara. He is elected from amongst the members and ceases the hold office on the expiry of his term as a Senator. He President is assisted by one deputy.

Yang Di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat (The Speaker Of The House Of Representative) The Yang di-Pertua of the Dewan Rakyat is the presiding officer of The House. He presides over the proceedings of the house in accordance with the Standing Orders. The Yang di-Pertua need not be a member of The House to be elected as the speaker by the House. The speaker is assisted by two Deputies.

Chief Administrator The Chief Administrator of Parliament is the officer in-charge of administrative and financial matters of Parliament.

Secretary of the Senate and Secretary of the House of Representatives Secretary to The Senate and secretary to The House of Representatives are responsible for the proceeding of the meeting in both Houses. They are also responsible for keeping the record of proceeding.

Standing Orders The Standing Orders of the Dewan Negara and the Dewan Rakyat are sets of rules and procedure on the conduct of the proceedings of respective House. Each House has its own Standing Orders.

Question Time During question time, any member of the House may raise questions to any Cabinet Minister regarding the implementation as well as the problems of the Government Policies relevant to the Ministry concern. Verbal exchanges are often heated and lively. It takes one and half-hour from 10.00 am to 11.30 am.

Hansard The Hansard is the official Verbatim Report of Parliamentary debates. Hansard constitutes a complete and accurate record of every word which is spoken in Parliament, and each House issues its own separate report.

Mace The Mace is a symbol of Royal Authority and hence the authority of Parliament. Each House has its own Mace. It is an integral component of the Regalia of Parliament. Parliamentary proceeding cannot be conduct without the Mace.

Sergeant-At-Arms Sergeant-at-arms is the custodian of the mace. For the sergeant-at-arms, the mace is also the warrant for him to execute his authority when acting under the direction of the Speaker. He is responsible for the security inside both Houses.

The Parliament Building

The Parliament Building is the brainchild of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysias first Prime Minister. The foundation stone was laid by the third Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Seri Paduka Baginda Tuanku Syed Putra Al-Haj Ibni Al-Marhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail on 31 August 1962.

The RM18-million building was built on a 16.2 land of hectares, near to the Perdana Lake Garden. Construction began in September 1962 and was complete on November 1963. It was officiated by His Majesty Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Syed Putra Al-Haj Ibni AlMarhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail on 2 November 1963. The Parliament Complex has two main structures: The Main Block and The Tower Block

Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat are both located in the main block. The main block too houses the Ministers offices, Speaker and Presidents Office, Banquet Hall, Royal Suite, Surau, library hall and Committee Rooms. The 17 storey tower block houses of offices of the Prime Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers, Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Leader of the Opposition as well as the administrative division of Parliament.

2.1

Why Seperation of power? Separation of powers, a system of government where power is split among multiple

groups or branches, is important because it provides a system of checks and balances on the government. With three separate branches working together, no one branch can impose their own agenda that goes against the interest of the people. If, for example, Congress tried to pass a law that violated the Constitution, the President could veto that law. If the president didn't veto it, the Supreme Court could declare it unconstitutional. The system of checks and balances limits government corruption, since it is much harder to get an unfair agenda passed when it would have to go through three different entities. As a practical matter, it also makes the governing of the country easier. The responsibility is divided up, so no one single branch has to control all aspects of governing a country. Imagine, for example, if Congress had to make all the laws and then enforce them by hearing all court cases that arose from them. It would be a tremendous amount of responsibility (not to mention power) for one governing body to do all that. Marchamont Nedham, writing under Cromwell's Protectorate in 1656 (no. 2), the required separation is that of legislative and executive powers into different "hands and persons." As used by him, the distinction resembles the sharp dichotomy between the formation of policy and its administration favored by mid-twentieth-century American administrative theorists. Separation, for Nedham, is an indispensable means for locating responsibility and fixing accountability. An executive, unambiguously charged with executing a policy set by the "Law-makers," can be held liable for its performance or nonperformance. Let that clear line of distinction and responsibility be blurred, and liberty and the people's interest are alike in jeopardy.

Reference Abdul Rashid Moten & Syed Serajul Islam. (2004)(2nd Ed). Introduction Political Science.

Abdul Rashid Moten & Syed Serajul Islam. (2005). Political Science: The Premier

Sabitha Marican. (2001). Dasar Awam di Malaysia: Isu dan Konsep. Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn. Bhd.

Prestus, R. (1975). Public Administration. New York: Prentice Hall.

Seperation of power. Retrieved on 27 Nov 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved on 27 Nov 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Malaysia