The Assembly is modelled after the traditions of the Westminster parliamentary system, which originates from the practices of the British Parliament.

The Legislative Assembly, as of 2019, consists of 82 members, making it the largest state legislature in Malaysia.

'State Council'),[2] which lasted through the remainder of the Raj and continued throughout the colonial period and into the early years of the federation.

The formal appointment of the Chief Minister is performed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

Its members were chosen from local tribe leaders who were thought to be capable of assisting Brooke in administering the kingdom.

[2] In 1976, Council Negri formally changed its name to Dewan Undangan Negeri (legislative assembly) through amendment of Sarawak constitution.

Since 1963, when Sarawak joined with Malaya, Singapore and North Borneo (now known as Sabah) to form Malaysia, in line with the federal and state constitutions, members of the Assembly have been elected representatives.

The 1941 constitution of Sarawak supposedly ended the Rajah's absolute rule over the council, but it did not materialise due to the Japanese occupation.

9  The Concurrent List (including the supplement) in the same schedule specifies the subjects that both the Assembly and Parliament may legislate for; however, the federal law prevails where they conflict.[7]: art.

[8] The Assembly must sit at least once every six months (and often only does so at that frequency) to approve taxation to and supply from the state's consolidated fund.

[9] Aside from administrative matters, members of the Assembly are free to speak on any issues, as stipulated in the Privileges, Immunities and Powers Ordinance 1963.

The chamber is furnished in red, similar to upper houses of Westminster system parliaments.

Four rows of desks (benches) are located on opposite sides of the chamber, furnished with leather office chairs, individual microphones and electronic voting equipment.

However, government MLAs may overflow onto the opposition's side of the chamber, in which case they occupy the seats furthest from the Speaker first.

Government ministers and the shadow cabinet occupy the front rows and are thus known as frontbenchers, with the Premier and Leader of the Opposition sitting closest to the Speaker.

Sarawak is unusual within Malaysia in that both Malay and English have equal standing in proceedings of the Legislative Assembly – debates frequently switch between both languages and members may choose to use either or both.

Speeches are addressed to the presiding officer, using the words Tuan Speaker (lit.

Timeslots may sometimes be allocated to opposition or independent members to propose their own bills, although these rarely pass without governmental support.

Bills that are passed by the Assembly are then sent to the Governor to be assented to, where they finally become state law, known as Ordinances.

The presiding officer, if she or he believes that the result of the voice vote is clear, may reject the challenge.

Sarawak is, as of 2019, divided into 82 state constituencies, each directly electing one member to the Legislative Assembly under the first-past-the-post voting system.

Any Malaysian resident in Sarawak who are at least age 21 may be elected to the membership of the Assembly, unless they were convicted of an offence in Malaysia that has not been pardoned, are a bankrupt, holding an office of profit (except that of a native chief), are of unsound mind, convicted of electoral fraud or possess voluntary citizenship of another country.[5]: arts.

Membership in the Assembly is restricted to Malaysian citizens residing in Sarawak who are at least 21 years old.[5]: art.

A person is also ineligible while they are an undischarged bankrupt or are holding an office of profit (besides that of a native chief).[5]: art.

17(1) A person who has failed to formally lodge a return of election expenses in relation to an election for the Assembly or either chamber of Parliament, or was convicted of an offence anywhere in Malaysia and was sentenced to imprisonment for at least one year or fined at least 2000 Malaysian ringgit and has not been pardoned, or resigned from this Assembly or the Assembly of any other state, are disqualified from the membership for five years from that event (in the case of imprisonment, the disqualification persists until five years after the person is released from custody).

17(1, 3, 6) A person may be disqualified if they have been previously convicted of an electoral offence with respect to elections for the Assembly or Parliament.[5]: art.

24 An MLA is disqualified from the remainder of an Assembly term if they resigned from the political party that they stood for in the previous election and had voluntarily undertook to the Speaker that they would not do so.[5]: art.

17(7) Members may concurrently hold membership in both the Assembly and Parliament – they are not required to resign from either legislature.

The lengths of their service are specified by the letters patent that appointed them; however, their term may end premature if they no longer qualify for the membership of the Assembly, they resign, or the Governor terminates their speakership on the advice of the Premier.

They serve a similar role to the Clerk of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, advising the Speaker on the rules and procedure of the Assembly, signing orders and official communications, and signing and endorsing bills.