DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONGRESS IN USA AND PARLIAMENT IN MALAYSIA

INTRODUCTION

     Law is important in every country as law is controlled the human behavior for the safety of the state. Every state must have law in every aspects. There must be a department or a branch to make the law to resolve the problem or issue that is arise. The three branches of government has been established for making law, implementing and adjudicate the matters which are the legislator, the executive and the judiciary. Our focus in this topic is about the terms of the legislature and the differences between Congress in U.S and the Parliament of Malaysia.

Congress is differ with Parliament especially in their power, structure, the process and their privileges. Parliament of the Malaysia legislature takes the Highest authority in the Malaysia. There has two chamber which are the (Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara). Both of the House have their own responsibility in functioning the law making process. It is important for the legislature to be function as the executive and the judicial branch will be function also after the law is made by the legislature.

Congress in US using bicameral legislature that they has two chamber same like Parliament in Malaysia. There are House of Representative that is known as lower house and House of Senate which is called upper house. In the Representative House, member known as representative and at the House of Senate the members that being there called Senators.

 The legislative is the first government body than the other branches which are the executive and the judiciary. The legislature function is to create or make a correction or amendment of the law. In this sense, the legislature take the most responsible duty other than the two branches. It is because, if the legislative is not functioning, then the executive and the judiciary also cannot functioning as they need a law to be implement and to be judge if there are any cases is involved. The legislature must create the Bill that then will be pass to the executive branch to be discuss then the bill will be sent to the judiciary body whether the bill is accepted to be law or not. That’s why the legislative takes the highest place than the two other branches.

The legislature power formulates and expresses the will of the state. They create law based on what is the citizen needs and rights from their grievances or this body create laws based on the issue that is arise. It is a negotiation assembly where the members have the power to pass, amend and repeal law. They gathered to discuss and debate on the matter of the Bill. In a democratic country, the legislature legislate on the general rules for the society in the forms of law. Law must exist from the legislature branch before it is to be judgment by the judiciary and for the executive to take action which is implementing the law. The functions of the executive and the judiciary are based on the laws that are passed by the legislature.

Legislative has unique characteristics as argued by Nelson W. Polsby. He argues that legislatures are different from executives and judiciary on several counts which are legislatives are official government agencies, they are multi-membered, they are directly elected by the citizens, their members are formally equal, they arrive at decisions by deliberating on alternatives and lastly, they register decisions by counting the votes of their members (Rashid Molten, Syed Serajul Islam, 2011).

THE FUNCTIONS OF LEGISLATURE

  As we know, an important function of the legislative is to make law. But in today democracy, it’s function not only to make law but they also carry on the responsibility on many functions. On the first function of the legislature is of course is to make laws, to amend or replace an old laws. In other word, legislature legislate. Therefore, before the law is to be enacted,  the legislator will take a discussion and debate on the content of the law during the process and they also responsible to think.

Next functions of the legislative are the legislative represents the people in the government. The members of the legislature are the representative of the public. They will make known the grievances of the people that is complain by them or an alternative or an idea from the people. In a modern democracy and complex state, the legislature political compromise on this function. This is because the legislature is considered to be the main forum for the public opinion.

The legislative function also perform certain financial function. In this sense, the legislature controlled and regulated the financial of the country. Taxes claims by the legislature in each state of a country are come from the public. This taxes are the sources of income for the government to be controlled and is determined by the legislature for the expenditures of machinery for the government such as the facility, infrastructure, and for the budget of annual year. They will present, consider, and authorize the budget.

In some countries such as in America, the legislature acts as an electoral college to elect the top executive. Every fourth year the congress will meet for the session to count on the electoral vote cast for the President and the Vice President. If there is no majority vote for candidates receive the position of President, the house of representative which are the legislature will select among of the candidates who get three highest vote. While for the vice president, When no candidate secures a majority of the electoral votes cast, the senate makes the choice from among two candidates with the highest number of votes.

Legislature at times performs judicial function. Many countries that is implement the bicameral system of the legislator perform certain judicial function. In this sense, it is the upper House takes the responsibility on this function. For example in Britain, the House of Lord has the power of court which is the court of appeal. Some of the legislator have the power to adjudicate the behavior of the administrative officials. For example, the senate in the U.S. sits as a court of impeachment for the trial of the President and Vice President. If the President or the Vice President behavior are bad, then the Senate can accuse them for being bad behavior through the process of impeachment. They will be fired from their position.

Lastly, the legislator supervision the executive branch. The legislative may operate as to check and balance the executive branch of government. In this case, if one branch of the government make a mistake in its decision, the other branch is able to identify and correct it. If the executive branch implement the law but the issue is arise from that law, then the legislature will identify what is wrong with that law and then they will make a correction or amending that law. They will check on the Bill with full attention through discussion and debates repeatedly to make sure that the law is implemented by the executive are correct and effective. This make the ministers are accountable for their duty.

FORMS OF LEGISLATURE

  Legislation branch that is implement in any country is varies. It is because, there are two forms of legislature which are the bicameral system and the unicameral system. Some country is implement the legislation by using the unicameral while some are the bicameral. In the unicameral system, there is only one chamber that is used in Norway, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Finland, and Denmark. On the other hand, the bicameral system consists of two chamber which are used in Malaysia, Canada, the United States and Britain. Bicameral legislature has an upper house while the unicameral legislature does not have an upper house.

In the unicameral system, the members of the House is elected directly by the people. The election is based on the adult suffrage. It is where the government has choose the right age which is an adult only can vote. Unicameral system is suitable to be implement if the state have the small population. As in bicameralism, the members of the house is elected either by the members of the first chamber or directly elected by the people or by hereditary. It is suitable to be implement if the state has the large population.It is because the country that is use this system believe that “law is the will of the people” and the people cannot have two different wills on the same subject (Abdul Rashid Molten, Syed Serajul Islam, 2011). The people then choose for the two chamber system or bicameralism before the 2^nd World War. Both unicameral and bicameral have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is depend on the goal of the country in achieving their objective. In unicameral system it permits speedy action because unicameral only consist of one chamber where the process of making the law has no check but the Bills goes through full attention discussion and debates and they also made the revisions through prior consultation. In this case, the position of members in the House is less than the bicameral system where it has one chamber only.

In implement the making law process in bicameral system, they avoid in a hurry decisions. It is because there is a check and balance which is after the lower House has finish in discussion the Bill then the Bill is sent to the upper House as to make the same process which is to be considered. If both houses doesn’t agree on the content then the Bill is fail and be considered until reach at the satisfy level between both Houses.

Next, bicameral system also prevents one of the chamber being overloaded with work. This will encourage to do justice to all issues in making a new law. The second chamber can relief the first chamber certain task by enable them to be focus only important matters.

The disadvantage of the unicameral system is that they may lead to the despotism. It is because, the single chamber may make an overhasty decision as they have no check and balance in their law making process. As they only consist of one House it may burdened their work as they have to discuss all matters involve in law making process as compared to bicameral system they have an upper House in concentrate on the important matters. But in unicameral system they need to do all the work that will lead them to be in tired and lastly make them feel to be must in a hurry in making the law. Thus, the law that is approve is not for the will of the people.

In a bicameral system, it process takes time too long to be approve as the process making need to be repeat by the second chamber. The second chamber repeat back the argument that is conclude by the first chamber. This will make the law making process is complicated thus may lead to the deadlock. As the bicameral system consists of two chamber, it is more expensive in preparing both houses machinery as comparing to unicameral system. This system need to use a lot of expenditures for preparing what is need in making the law process is efficient. Therefore, it is also wasting the time as the process is need to be repeat when the Bill is fail.

CONGRESS IN US

       Article I of the Constitution enact forth most of the powers of Congress, which one comprise numerous explicit authorities accounted in Section 8. Constitutional emendation have granted Congress supplemental authorities. Congress also has implied authorities imprint from the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause. Congress has power on  finance and budget  principle via the enumerated authority  to put and gather taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to disburse  the debts and supply  for the general defense and public virtue of the United States. There is big power toward expenses, despite analyst Eric Patashnik reserved that much of Congress's authority to administer the budget has been lost when the benevolence country develop since "entitlements were institutionally detached from Congress's ordinary legislative routine and rhythm." Another fact precede to lacking of guard over the budget was a Keynesian reliance that well-balanced budgets were unnecessary.

Several enumerated powers that lay in the hands of Congress members in United States. Firstly, the members put and gather taxes and others to disburse the debts and prepare for the public defense and common benevolence of the United States. Second enumerated power of Congress in United States is to borrow money on the United States credit and the commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes is regulated. Another enumerated powers of the United States are to coin money and fix the weights and measures standard. Congress also has implied powers originating from the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause which allow Congress to establish all laws which shall be obligatory and certainly for carrying into implementation the top powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or its official.

There are two chambers in Congress which are House and Senate. House of Senate and House of Representative which are upper and lower house respectively. They runs the huge duty of writing national legislation by dividing work into distinct committees which specialize in different areas. To be officers of these committees, some members are elected by their peers. Congress has ancillary organizations such as the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress to aid prepare it with information, and they have staff and offices to help them as well. Furthermore, a wide  industry of lobbyists aids members write legislation on behalf of many corporate and labor importance.

The specialization is the committee structure allows Congress members to research a certain subject intensely. Committees specific subjects and counsel about choices and trade-offs. The choice of sphere may be affected by the member's constituency, important area issues, prior background and experience. For example, the House Ways and Means Committee has considerable influence over House matters. Legislative, mistake, and internal administrative duties are separated among about two hundred committees and subcommittees which assemble information, assess electives, and identify problems. They suggest settlements for reasoning  by the complete chamber. One session each year within two-year terms.

Firstly, it is Sessions. A Congress term is divided into two sessions, one for every year. Congress has occasionally also been called into a special session  which the Constitution needs Congress to meet at least once each year. A new session commences on January 3 or different date, if Congress so pick out each year. It is the long session; and from December to March 4 in the second short session. The new Congress would then counsel for some days, for the commence, promoting in new members, and management. The Constitution prohibits either house from meeting any place outside the Capitol, or from postponing for more than three days, without the bargain of the other house. The permission of both bodies is required for Congress's final adjournment, or suspensions in die, a teach congressional session end. If the two houses cannot congruent on a date, the Constitution allows the President to settle the dispute.

Secondly is Joint Session, it is happen on special occasions that require a concurrent resolution from both House and Senate. These sessions include the electoral votes counting following a Presidential election and the Union address President's State. Other meetings of both House and Senate are called Congress Joint Meetings, held after unanimous consent approvals to recess and meet. Congress Meeting for Presidential Inaugurations may also be Joint Sessions, if both House and Senate are in session at the time, otherwise they are official joint encounters. At some time while the first two months of every session, the President standardly conveys the Union Address State, a speech in which he appraises the condition of the country and signifies his legislative proposals for the congressional session. The speech is the specimen on the Speech from the Throne given by the British king, and is mandated by the United States Constitution despite it is should not needed to be conveyed each year or in the customary behavior. Thomas Jefferson stopped the original exercise of conveying the speech in person before both houses of Congress, considering it too monarchical. Instead, Jefferson and his surrogates deliver a written message to Congress each year. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson the practice of personally attending to deliver the speech reestablished by President Woodrow Wilson; few Presidents have diverged from this custom since. Joint Sessions and Joint Meetings are traditionally presided over by the  House Speaker but for the joint session to compute electoral votes for President, when the Constitution needs the Senate President (Vice President) of the United States to .president.

Thirdly it is Bills and Resolution. Ideas for legislation can approach from many spheres, comprising members, lobbyists, state legislatures, elements, legislative advice, an executive agency such as the president or cabinet officer, and the usual next pace is for the recommendation to be passed to a committee for review. A recommendation has usually one of four principal forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution.

For the part of privileges of Congress members, as of January 2009, the salary for them is $174,000, with Majority and Minority leaders gaining $193,400. The House Speaker accepts $223,500.Members have their franking privileges which since 1775 they have the privilege of sending mail to their constituents using their signature instead of a postage stamp. This privilege is regulated by federal law and may only be used for matter of public concern. This does not mean that members of Congress may commit crimes with impunity. Members of Congress cannot be sued for libel or slander regarding any statements made on the floor of the House or Senate or in official reports.

Other than that, they are prepared with comprehensive research by The Library of Congress in reply to demands accepted by the Congressional Research Service. Specialists at both the Law Library and Congressional Research Service continually provide aim, detailed elucidation to Congress members on a various kinds of titles. As federal employees, members of Congress have access to one of the most generous health bail plans in the country. Senators and representatives may select from 10 different schemes, all of which are subsidized by taxpayers. Additionally, the Los Angeles Times reports, lawmakers have access to their own pharmacy, doctors and nurses at a clinic located between the House and Senate chambers.

PARLIAMENT  IN MALAYSIA

      The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament. The Parliament assembles in the Malaysian Houses of Parliament, located in the national capital city of Kuala Lumpur. .As the ultimate legislative body in Malaysia, the Parliament is responsible for passing, amending and repealing acts of law. It is subordinate to the Head of State, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, under Article 39 of the Constitution.

      The Dewan Rakyat consists of 222 members of Parliament (MPs) elected from single-member constituencies drawn based on population in a general election using the first-past-the-post system. A general election is held every five years or when Parliament is dissolved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister. Suffrage is given to registered voters 21 years and above, however voting is not compulsory. The age requirement to stand for election is 21 years and above. When a member of Parliament dies, resigns or become disqualified to hold a seat, a by-election is held in his constituency unless the tenure for the current Parliament is less than two years, where the seat is simply left vacant until the next general election.

       The Dewan Negara consists of 70 members (Senators); 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies (2 senators per state), 4 are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to represent the 3 federal territories (2 for Kuala Lumpur, 1 each for Putrajaya and Labuan). The rest 40 members are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister. Senators must be 30 years or above, and are appointed to a three-year term for a maximum of two terms. The dissolution of the Parliament does not affect the Dewan Negara.

      Members of Parliament are permitted to speak on any subject without fear of censure outside Parliament; the only body that can censure an MP is the House Committee of Privileges. Parliamentary immunity takes effect from the moment a member of Parliament is sworn in, and only applies when that member has the floor; it does not apply to statements made outside the House. An exception to this rule are portions of the constitution related to the social contract, such as the Articles governing citizenship, Bumiputra (Malays and indigenous people) priorities, the Malay language, all public questioning of these provisions is illegal under the 1971 amendments to the Sedition Act, which Parliament passed in the wake of the 1969 13 May race riots. Members of Parliament are also forbidden from criticising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and judges. Parliamentary immunity and other such privileges are set out by Article 63 of the Constitution; as such, the specific exceptions to such immunity had to be included in the Constitution by amendment after the 13 May incident.

       The executive government, comprising the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, is drawn from the members of Parliament and is responsible to the Parliament. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government but constitutionally subordinant to His Royal Highness, from the Dewan Rakyat. In practice, the Prime Minister shall be the one who commands the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat. The Prime Minister then submits a list containing the names of members of his Cabinet, who will then be appointed as Ministers by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Members of the Cabinet must also be members of Parliament, usually from the Dewan Rakyat. The Cabinet formulates government policy and drafts bills, meeting in private. The members must accept "collective responsibility" for the decisions the Cabinet makes, even if some members disagree with it; if they do not wish to be held responsible for Cabinet decisions, they must resign. Although the Constitution makes no provision for it, there is also a Deputy Prime Minister, who is the de facto successor of the Prime Minister should he die, resign or be otherwise incapacitated. If the Prime Minister loses the confidence of the Dewan Rakyat, whether by losing a no-confidence vote or by failing to pass a budget, he must either submit his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or ask His Royal Highness to dissolve the Parliament. If His Royal Highness refuses to dissolve the Parliament (one of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong discretionary powers), the Cabinet must resign and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong will appoint a new Prime Minister.

       Although the judiciary is constitutionally an independent branch of the government, after the 1988 constitutional crisis, the judiciary was made subject to Parliament; judicial powers are held by Parliament, and vested by it in the courts, instead of being directly held by the judiciary as before. The Attorney-General was also conferred the power to instruct the courts on what cases to hear, where they would be heard, and whether to discontinue a particular case. Parliament meets from Monday to Thursday when it is in session, as Friday is part of the weekend in the states of Kelantan, Kedah, and Perlis.

       A proposed act of law begins its life when a particular government minister or ministry prepares a first draft with the assistance of the Attorney-General's Department. The draft, known as a bill, is then discussed by the Cabinet. If it is agreed to be submitted to Parliament, the bill is distributed to all MPs. It then goes through three readings before the Dewan Rakyat. The first reading is where the minister or his deputy submits it to Parliament. At the second reading, the bill is discussed and debated by MPs. Until the mid-1970s, both English and Malay (the national language) were used for debates, but henceforth, only Malay was permitted, unless permission was obtained from the Speaker of the House. At the third reading, the minister or his deputy formally submit it to a vote for approval. A 2/3 majority is usually required to pass the bill, but in certain cases, a simple majority suffices. Should the bill pass, it is sent to the Dewan Negara, where the three readings are carried out again. The Dewan Negara may choose not to pass the bill, but this only delays its passage by a month, or in some cases, a year; once this period expires, the bill is considered to have been passed by the house.

        If the bill passes, it is presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who has 30 days to consider the bill. Should he disagree with it, he returns it to Parliament with a list of suggested amendments. Parliament must then reconsider the bill and its proposed amendments and return it to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong within 30 days if they pass it again. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong then has another 30 days to give the royal assent; otherwise, it passes into law. The law does not take effect until it is published in the Government Gazette. The government attempts to maintain top secrecy regarding bills debated; MPs generally receive copies of bills only a few days before they are debated, and newspapers are rarely provided with copies of the bills before they are debated. In some cases, such as a 1968 amendment to the Constitution, an MP may be presented with a bill to be debated on the same day it is tabled, and all three readings may be carried out that day itself. In rare circumstances, the government may release a White paper containing particular proposals that will eventually be incorporated into a bill; this has been done for legislation such as the Universities and University Colleges Act.

     Although the process above assumes only the government can propose bills, there also exists a process for Private Member's Bills. However, as in most other legislatures following the Westminster System, few members of Parliament actually introduce bills. To present a Private Member's Bill, the member in question must seek the leave of the House in question to debate the bill before it is moved. Originally, it was allowed to debate the bill in the process of seeking leave, but this process was discontinued by an amendment to the Standing Orders of Parliament. It is also possible for members of the Dewan Negara (Senate) to initiate bills; however, only cabinet ministers are permitted to move finance-related bills, which must be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

       It is often alleged that legislation proposed by the opposition parties, which must naturally be in the form of a Private Member's Bill, is not seriously considered by Parliament. Some have gone as far as to claim that the rights of members of Parliament to debate proposed bills have been severely curtailed by incidents such as an amendment of the Standing Orders that permitted the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat to amend written copies of MPs' speeches before they were made. Nevertheless, some of these critics also suggest that "Government officials often face sharp questioning in Parliament, although this is not always reported in detail in the press.

CONCLUSION

   

     As a conclusion, US Congress is accountable for making laws and occupations differently from the government part which executes them and led by the President. In elections, candidates for each party hoping to win control over a region are chosen in primaries before the subsequent election. By reason of the emphasis on individuals, party discipline tends to be quite relaxed. The members cannot evacuate the President from authority but with impeachment, which is only likely if he abuses his authority. Some of the UK Parliament members work in the government part which executes them. This includes who all belong in the Parliament such as the Prime Minister, the ruling party leader, and the Cabinet. Party discipline tends to be strict as the Prime Minister ought to  retain support of the majority of members or else be removed by a "Vote of No Confidence". For each territory, political parties decide who their nominees and their favorite candidates are often nominated for the safest seats.