Executive power 

is vested in the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. The prime minister must be a

member of the House of Representatives, who in the opinion of His Majesty the King, commands the
support of a majority of members. The Cabinet is chosen from members of both houses of
Parliament.[46] The Prime Minister is both the head of cabinet and the head of government.[72] As a
result of the 2018 general election Malaysia was governed by the Pakatan Harapan political alliance,
[65]
 although Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigned amid a political crisis in 2020. In March
2020, the Perikatan Nasional coalition formed under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin,[77] before
Muhyiddin lost majority support and was replaced by deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, a
veteran politician from UMNO, in August 2021. [78][79]As a result of the 2022 Malaysian general
election, a hung parliament was elected. Anwar Ibrahim of the PH coalition was appointed as the
new Prime Minister to lead the coalition government of PH, BN, Gabungan Parti
Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and several other political parties and
independents. Meanwhile PN, the only political coalition not in the coalition government became the
Opposition. Malaysia's legal system is based on English Common Law.[46] Although the judiciary is
theoretically independent, its independence has been called into question and the appointment of
judges lacks accountability and transparency.[80] The highest court in the judicial system is
the Federal Court, followed by the Court of Appeal and two high courts, one for Peninsular Malaysia
and one for East Malaysia. Malaysia also has a special court to hear cases brought by or against
royalty.[81]
Race is a significant force in politics.[46] Affirmative actions such as the New Economic Policy[62] and
the National Development Policy which superseded it, were implemented to advance the standing of
the bumiputera, consisting of Malays and the indigenous tribes who are considered the original
inhabitants of Malaysia, over non-bumiputera such as Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indians.
[82]
 These policies provide preferential treatment to bumiputera in employment, education,
scholarships, business, and access to cheaper housing and assisted savings. However, it has
generated greater interethnic resentment. [83] There is ongoing debate over whether the laws and
society of Malaysia should reflect Islamism or secularism.[84] Islamic criminal laws passed by the Pan-
Malaysian Islamic Party with the support of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) state
assemblymen in the state legislative assembly of Kelantan have been blocked by the federal
government on the basis that criminal laws are the responsibility of the federal government. [85][86][87]