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The Opposition in Malaysia is a term used to describe political parties represented in the Parliament of Malaysia that is not in government either on its own or as part of a governing coalition. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state.
The title Official Opposition, used in most of the other member nations of the Commonwealth to designate the political party securing the largest number of seats in the Lower House of parliament (Dewan Rakyat), and which is not in government, is rarely used in Malaysia. It is the common practice to refer to the Opposition simply as The Opposition, or by the party name.
Theoretically, it is seen as the alternative government and is prepared to assume office should the incumbent government resign. Due to the domination of the Barisan Nasional (and it's predecessor The Alliance) coalition of the parliament since Independence, this perception is generally not acknowledged and occasionally gives rise to criticism that the Opposition is a form of democratic tokenism.
By convention, the Opposition Leader comes from the political party that secures the largest number of seats in the Dewan Rakyat, and which is not in government.
The present Opposition Leader is Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
The present political parties which are considered The Opposition in parliament are the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and the People's Justice Party (PKR). There are also five non party representatives known as Independents of which one is considered aligned to the Opposition.