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The politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal representative democratic constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. Federal legislative power is vested in the federal parliament and the 13 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a certain level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts. The Constitution of Malaysia is codified and the system of government is based on the Westminster system. The hierarchy of authority in Malaysia, in accordance to the Federal Constitution, has stipulated the three branches (administrative components) of the Malaysian government as consisting of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branch. Whereas, the Parliament consists of the Dewan Negara (Upper House / House of Senate) and Dewan Rakyat (Lower House / House of Representatives). Malaysia's predominant political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has held power in coalition known as the Barisan Nasional (formerly the Alliance) with other parties since Malaya's independence in 1957.[4] In 1973, an alliance of communally based parties was replaced with a broader coalition – the Barisan Nasional — composed of fourteen parties. Today the Barisan Nasional coalition has three prominent members – the UMNO, MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress). The Prime Minister of Malaysia has always been from the UMNO. In addition to the UMNO and other member parties of the Barisan Nasional, three main opposition parties (and several smaller parties) compete in national and state-level elections in Malaysia. The three most competitive opposition parties are the People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat in Malay, shortened to PKR), the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (Parti Islam se-Malaysia, or PAS), and the Democratic Action Party (DAP). The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) promotes a more Islamist political agenda, while the Democratic Action Party (DAP) promotes a more democratic socialist economic policy.[5] The political process in Malaysia has generally been described as taking the form of "consociationalism" whereby "communal interests are resolved in the framework of a grand coalition" "Malaysia: Developmental State Challenged". In Government and Politics in Southeast Asia...