Government > Leaders Stats: compare key data on Malaysia & Tonga

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STAT	Malaysia	Tonga	HISTORY
Head of state	Tuanku Abdul Halim	King George Tupou VI
Head of state > Profile	<p>Tuanku Abdul Halim was appointed the 14th paramount ruler, Malaysia&#039;s head of state, in December 2011. Having already held the post from 1970 to 1975, he is the first Malaysian king to be enthroned twice. He is also the oldest to be elected to the post at 83.</p> <p>The post of paramount ruler is rotated every five years among the sultans of the nine Malay kingdoms.</p>	<p>George Tupou VI succeeded to the throne on the death of his elder brother, the bachelor George Tupou V, in March 2012. </p> <p>The new King was Tonga&#039;s High Commissioner (ambassador) to Australia from 2008, having served as prime minister in 2000-2006. He quit as prime minister in the face of violent pro-democracy protests in February 2006, and was succeeded by Tonga&#039;s first non-royal and non-aristocratic head of government, Feleti Sevele.</p> <p>The late King George Tupou V ushered in parliamentary democracy in 2010, ending centuries of feudal dominance of government.</p>
Prime minister	Najib Abdul Razak	Lord Tu&#039;ivakano
Prime minister > Profile	<p>Najib Razak assumed the post of prime minister following the resignation of his predecessor in 2009, and was sworn in for a second term after his coalition won elections in May 2013. </p> <p>The long-governing National Front coalition won the 2013 national elections with a weakened majority to extend its unbroken, 56-year rule, fending off the strongest opposition it had ever faced.</p> <p>The opposition alleged the biggest electoral fraud in the country&#039;s history. </p> <p>The son of the country&#039;s second prime minister and nephew of the third, Mr Najib is regarded by many Malaysians as political blue blood and seems to have been destined for the premiership from an early age.</p> <p>A British-trained economist, he first entered parliament at the age of 23 - becoming the youngest MP in Malaysian history - and quickly rose to prominence.</p> <p>He held numerous cabinet posts - including finance and defence - before becoming prime minister. </p> <p>He took over the premiership at a turbulent time, and faces the enormous challenge of steering the country through the global financial crisis, which has hit the economy hard. </p> <p>Mr Najib pledged radical reforms and a more transparent government. He said that one of his priorities would be to close a widening ethnic and religious divide, after Malaysia&#039;s ethnic minorities shifted towards the opposition in large numbers in the 2008 polls, fearing their rights were being eroded. </p> <p>But his rise to power was marked by a government crackdown on the resurgent opposition, with allegations that strong-arm tactics were being used to stifle political dissent. </p> <p>In July 2011, a demonstration in the capital Kuala Lumpur calling for electoral reform was forcibly broken up by the police. </p> <p>However, the following month Mr Najib announced that a cross-party parliamentary committee would look into ways of making the voting process more democratic.</p>	<p>Lord Tu&#039;ivakano became the country&#039;s first prime minister to be elected by parliament rather than appointed by the king in December 2010. </p> <p>Tu&#039;ivakano, a former speaker of Parliament, won 14 votes - two more than pro-democracy leader Akalisi Pohiva - in the ballot among the 26 members of the Tongan house of representatives. </p> <p>Tu&#039;ivakano, the minister for education and training in the former government, replaced Feleti Seveli. </p> <p>Under Tonga&#039;s new constitution, voters directly elected 17 seats in parliament, while nine were reserved for nobles. </p> <p>Previously, the tiny Pacific kingdom was run by a parliament dominated by a clique of nobles selected by the king, who also chose the prime minister and cabinet. </p> <p>The swing towards democracy followed riots in the capital Nuku&#039;alofa in 2006, which claimed eight lives and destroyed much of the business centre as people protested against the slow pace of political reform. </p>
Prime minister > Summary	Najib Abdul Razak	Lord Tu&#039;ivakano is a former speaker of Parliament

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