The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the state legislature of the Malaysian state

States of Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation which consists of thirteen states and three federal territories . Eleven states and two federal territories are located on the Malay Peninsula while the remaining two states and one federal territory are on the island of Borneo.-The states and federal territories:Malaysia...

 of Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 lawmakers.

The unicameral state legislature, whose members are called state assemblymen, convenes at the neoclassical Legislative Assembly building at Light Street. It has 40 seats, 29 of which are held by the Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat or PR is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls four state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level....

 compromising the Democratic Action Party

Democratic Action Party

The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...

 which has 19 seats, nine by Parti Keadilan Rakyat

Parti Keadilan Rakyat

The People's Justice Party , often known simply as KeADILan) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party...

 and one by Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party defeating the Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

 with only 11 seats since the 2008 general elections. It was a sharp reversal from the 38 seats held by BN in the 2004 elections and only the second time since Independence that the state fell into non-BN control, the last being in 1969.

Role

The Penang State Assembly's main function is to enact legislation and policies relating to the State List and Joint List as defined in the Federal Constitution

Constitution of Malaysia

The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation...

. Its members also provide oversight on the state's executive branch of government, ensuring the state departments and agencies enforce the aforementioned legislation. Debates in the Assembly are presided over by the Speaker.

The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Assembly is appointed Chief Minister

Chief Minister of Penang

The Chief Minister of the State of Penang is the head of the executive branch of the government in the Malaysian state of Penang. The Chief Minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, from the State Legislative Assembly.-List of Chief Ministers:...

 by the Governor of Penang. The Chief Minister heads the state's executive, known as the State EXCO, whose members are also drawn from the Assembly.

State EXCO

Penang State EXCO

Portfolio	EXCO
Chief Minister Chief Minister of Penang The Chief Minister of the State of Penang is the head of the executive branch of the government in the Malaysian state of Penang. The Chief Minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, from the State Legislative Assembly.-List of Chief Ministers:... Land Affairs and Land Development, Entrepreneur Development, Information and Heritage	Lim Guan Eng Lim Guan Eng Lim Guan Eng is the 4th Chief Minister of the State of Penang and Secretary-General of the Malaysian Democratic Action Party . He is the son of Lim Kit Siang, Leader of the Opposition in the Dewan Rakyat from 1973 to 1999 and 2004 to 2008....
Deputy Chief Minister I Industry Development, International Trade, Cooperatives and Societal Relationship	Mansor Othman
Deputy Chief Minister II State Economic Planning, Education and Human Resources, Science, Technology and Innovation	P. Ramasamy
Local Government and Traffic Management	Chow Kon Yeow Chow Kon Yeow Yang Berhomat Chow Kon Yeow is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Tanjong constituency in Penang, Malaysia. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party and is a shadow Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Pakatan Rakyat...
Religious Affairs, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs	Abdul Malik Abul Kassim
Public Works, Utilities and Transport	Lim Hock Seng
Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage	Law Heng Kiang
Health and Welfare, Caring Society and Environment	Phee Boon Poh
Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, Rural Development and Flood Mitigation	Law Choo Kiang
Town and Countryside Planning, Housing	Wong Hon Fai
Youth and Sports, Women, Family and Community Development	Ong Kok Fooi
Non-representatives
State Secretary	Zainal Rahim Seman

Committees

The State Assembly also consists of committees to handle administrative matters. The committees include:

• Public Accounts Committee
• Rights and Privileges Committee
• Assembly Committee
• Rules of Proceedings Committee
• Constitutional Committee

Current Composition

For complete list of members, see List of Penang State Assemblymen.