As per league rules for the newly formed professional league, all teams were required to register 13 full professional, two semi-professional, and only three foreign players to play for their team in the competition.
[2] The league was then succeeded in 1998 by the formation of Liga Perdana 1 when the league was divided into two division alongside the Liga Perdana 2 by Football Association of Malaysia.
When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup.
[1] Initially the only teams allowed to participate in the league were the state FA's sides, teams representing the Armed Forces and the Police, and teams representing the neighbouring countries of Singapore and Brunei (though the Football Association of Singapore pulled out of the Malaysian League after the 1994 season following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts, and has not been involved since).
The Liga Semi-Pro essentially replaced by the Liga Perdana, the new professional national league which was added, and a second cup competition, Piala FA, joined the existing Malaysia Cup.
The newly formed professional football league was almost in peril when a bribing and corruption scandal was discovered between 1994 and 1995.
Some of the clubs were then evolved and joined the main league where in 1997, promotion from Malaysia FAM Cup to the professional M-League was introduced for the first time.
The lowest four teams from the playoff round were then put into Liga Perdana 2 alongside Police, Malaysia Military, Negeri Sembilan Chempaka F.C and PKN Johor.