a malaysian abroad

As of noon-ish on January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama is now the 43rd person* to lead the United States of America since 1789. Congratulations, President Barack Hussein Obama! May you lead this country back on to a healthy, healing path.

Barack Obama Originally uploaded by Llima

Chosen every four years, President of the United States is the highest political office in the USA, and is both Head of Government and Head of State.  He is the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.  He gets to grant pardons and reprieves, and is able to veto bills even if they have been passed by both houses of the Senate.  I can’t help thinking of Spiderman: with great power comes great responsibility.

* Obama is the 44th President, but 43rd person to have that title. Grover Cleveland is “counted twice”, having been both the 22nd and 24th Presidents since he served non-consecutive terms. Neat piece of trivia, ainnit?

Did you know that if you were the President of the Swiss Confederation, on the other hand, you wouldn’t have any difference in powers than any other members of the 7-member Swiss Federal Council?  In fact, there is no Head of State per se in Switzerland: it is the Federal Council, collectively, that is considered the Head of State.  Only if the Council is tied on a vote does the President cast the deciding vote.  The President’s term only lasts a year, and is usually replaced by the previous year’s Vice President.  The 2009 President of the Confederation is Hans-Rudolf Merz, who, if I count correctly, is the 161st President since the creation of this office in 1848 (if you want to include the Heads of the Swiss Diet , well, let’s just say Herr Merz is the latest in a VERY long succession of leaders!).

Coat of Arms of Malaysia source: wikipedia

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the Head of State and Head of Government are two entirely different offices:

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (loosely equated to King) is a largely ceremonial Head of State, elected from the Sultans who themselves are the ceremonial heads of individual states of Malaysia.  His Majesty is commander-in-chief of Malaysia’s armed forces, but his main role is to officially appoint many high-ranking office holders, usually on the advice of the Prime Minister.  He is also the Head of Islam for the country.  The current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the Sultan of Terengganu.

Malaysia’s Head of Government is the Prime Minister. While formally appointed by the Agong, the Prime Minister has invariably been the head of the ruling party within the House of Representatives whose appointment by the King is truly just a formality.  Most people will remember Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who held the post for 22 years.  Currently, the incumbent is Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

By the way, did you know that there is a prophecy about the succession of Malaysia’s Prime Ministers?  When independence was granted in 1957, the Head of State was Tuanku Abdul Rahman, and the Head of Government was Tunku Abdul Rahman (the source of much confusion for the uninformed!).  Perhaps it was the overlap of names that “caused” R A H M A N to become the blueprint for leaders to come:

R: Rahman, the first Prime Minster in 1957, who was succeeded in 1970 by
A: Abdul Razak, who was succeeded in 1976 by
H: Hussein Onn, who was succeeded in 1981 by
M: Mahathir Mohamad, who handed over the reins of power in 2003 to
A: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has indicated that he will be replaced by
N: (Abdul) Najib Abdul Razak in March 2009.

So, what happens after we reach our 6th Prime Minister? Will the “Rahman” pattern start over? Will it spell the end of Malaysia as we know it? Will Anwar, he who was supposed to be the second “A”, step in and create a brand new pattern?  Only time will tell!

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