In the Parliament of Malaysia, the political parties appoint party whips to ensure party discipline, help manage legislative business and carry out a variety of other functions on behalf of the party leadership. The most important function of a government party whip is to ensure that sufficient number of members and senators are present to take part in voting in the chamber, to maintain a parliamentary quorum and to prevent censure motions succeeding. Their roles in the chamber include taking divisions, and arranging pairs which affect the ability of members and senators to leave parliament during sittings, as well as the entitlement to be absent during divisions.
In practice, Malaysian whips play a lesser role than their counterparts in the United Kingdom, as party discipline in Malaysia is heavily controlled; parliamentary votes are fully in tandem with the official positions of the various political parties. The role of the whip becomes more critical the lower the majority the government has in the lower house of Parliament (Dewan Rakyat).
Party whips also exist in the thirteen state legislative assemblies of Malaysia.
Duties
Whips are essential to the day-to-day running of the house. They assist the party business managers arrange the order of business on the floor. They also draw up lists of speakers in debates, which (though not binding) assist the occupant of the chair in deciding whom to call on. The whips play the primary role in managing business in the parallel debating chamber. The Government Chief Whip has the same power as ministers and deputy ministers to move business motions. This right was extended with the creation of the parallel chamber (then called the Main Committee) to facilitate movement of business between it and the floor of the House of Representatives. The right can also be exercised by another whip acting on the Chief Whip's behalf.
Whips also play a central role in voting. During each vote (or "division"), whips ensure that their fellow party members are present and seated on the correct side of the house while votes are counted. Acting as tellers, the whips also count the votes. In a typical vote in the House of Representatives, where the Government and Opposition are on opposite sides, each will provide two tellers. One Government whip and one Opposition whip will count the votes in favour of the motion, and the other two will count the votes against. In the Senate, each side provides one whip.
History
Derived from the Chief Whip of the British Parliament, the concept of the whip – which also refers to the instructions issued by the Chief Whip – has been in force since 1955 when a national legislature for Malaya was first elected. The party governing then was the coalition of the Alliance, which governed until the mid-1970s, when it was renamed as the Barisan Nasional (National Front; commonly abbreviated as BN). As of 2006, the Chief Whip was Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, and his deputies were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Parliamentary Affairs Nazri Aziz, Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy, and Works Minister Samy Vellu.
There is some dispute about the precise nature of the whip, such as when it is in force. Convention in most Commonwealth countries that use the Westminster system, such as Malaysia, is that the whip is not in force unless explicitly made clear by the Chief Whip or his deputy. However, Parliamentarians have recently clashed over whether such is the case in Malaysia. In BN, although the Chief Whip rarely issues official directives, government MPs have tended to follow the party line. Most BN MPs who have contravened the government's stance in Parliament have been sanctioned. Recently, an official directive from the Prime Minister stated that the whip was always in force unless the Chief Whip or his deputy indicated otherwise.
Controversy
In 2006, the resignation of Shahrir Abdul Samad (BN-Johor Bahru) as chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) triggered a controversy over the nature of the whip and how it is enforced. Earlier in 2005, a Deputy Minister, S. Sothinathan, had been suspended for speaking in Parliament against the government's stand on the issue of the government's decision not to recognise degrees awarded by the Crimea State Medical University (CSMU). Later, two MPs who spoke in support of a motion made by the opposition regarding a corruption scandal related to the distribution of import permits were also sanctioned, receiving official warning letters. At the time, Najib said it was official BN policy to not support any motions brought by the opposition.