2020 in Malaysia is 63rd anniversary of Malaysia's independence and 57th anniversary of its formation of Malaysia.
Federal level
Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang Raja Permaisuri Agong: Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah of Pahang Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak Prime Minister: Mahathir Mohamad (until 24 February; interim from 24 February until 1 March) Muhyiddin Yassin (from 1 March) Deputy Prime Minister: Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (until 24 February) President of the Dewan Negara: Vigneswaran Sanasee (until 22 June) Rais Yatim (from 2 September) Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat: Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof (until 13 July) Azhar Azizan Harun (from 13 July) Chief Justice: Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat
State level
Johor: Sultan of Johor: Sultan Ibrahim Menteri Besar of Johor: Sahruddin Jamal (until 27 February) Hasni Mohammad (from 28 February) Kedah: Sultan of Kedah: Sultan Sallehuddin Menteri Besar of Kedah: Mukhriz Mahathir (until 17 May) Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (from 17 May) Kelantan: Sultan of Kelantan: Sultan Muhammad V Menteri Besar of Kelantan: Ahmad Yakob Perlis: Raja of Perlis: Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Menteri Besar of Perlis: Azlan Man Perak: Sultan of Perak: Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Menteri Besar of Perak: Ahmad Faizal Azumu (until 5 December) Saarani Mohammad (from 10 December) Pahang: Sultan of Pahang: Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah (Regent) Menteri Besar of Pahang: Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail Selangor: Sultan of Selangor: Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Menteri Besar of Selangor: Amirudin Shari Terengganu: Sultan of Terengganu: Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Menteri Besar of Terengganu: Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar Negeri Sembilan: Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Tuanku Muhriz Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Aminuddin Harun Penang: Governor of Penang: Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas Chief Minister of Penang: Chow Kon Yeow Malacca: Governor of Malacca: Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob (until 4 June) Tun Mohd Ali Rustam (from 4 June) Chief Minister of Malacca: Adly Zahari (until 9 March) Sulaiman Md Ali (from 9 March) Sarawak: Governor of Sarawak: Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud Chief Minister of Sarawak: Amar Abang Johari Abang Openg Sabah: Governor of Sabah: Tun Juhar Mahiruddin Chief Minister of Sabah: Mohd Shafie Apdal (until 29 September) Hajiji Noor (from 29 September)
Events January
1 January Smoking ban officially takes place after a year-long grace period last year. Visit Malaysia Year 2020 officially begins. 3 January – Maszlee Malik resigns as Minister of Education. 7–12 January – 2020 Malaysia Badminton Masters. 8 January – The MACC releases nine phone audio recordings received about a week earlier, recorded between 5 January to 29 July 2016, totaling about 45 minutes, revealing former prime minister Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak's attempts to cover up investigations into the 1MDB scandal, which MACC chief Latheefa Koya described as "shocking, as there are attempts at cover-ups and subversion of justice". One of the audio recordings featured a conversation between Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor, who sounded upset at Najib's mishandling on the scandal. In another audio recording, Najib was seeking help from United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to help clear Najib's stepson, Riza Aziz's involvement in the scandal. 8 January – Former prime minister Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak is in for nearly a full year of court appearances, after the High Court fixed further hearing dates from February until October for his corruption trial involving 25 charges over the 1MDB scandal. 13 January – Japanese national badminton player, Kento Momota was injured in an accident early in the morning on his way to airport after competed at the 2020 Malaysia Masters when the van he was on hit the back of the lorry on Maju Expressway in which the driver was killed. 18 January – 2020 Kimanis by-election: It was won by Mohamad Alamin a Barisan Nasional candidate from component party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), replacing original member of parliament Anifah Aman whose election result was disqualified. 20 January – The Thai Peace Dialogue Panel, led by General Wanlop Rugsanaoh, met with Barisan Revolusi Nasional representative Anas Abdulrahman in Kuala Lumpur, in what was described as "the first round of official peace dialogue" by BNR official Abdul Aziz Jabal. 25 January – COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: The Malaysian government confirmed the first cases related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The cases include three Chinese citizens from Singapore and subsequently quarantined at Sungai Buloh Hospital in Sungai Buloh, Selangor.
February
7–14 February – 2020 Tour de Langkawi. 21 February – A meeting was held by the presidential council of the PH coalition political party. The meeting is said to discuss the issue of handing over power from Tun Mahathir Mohamad to PKR President, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim Anwar Ibrahim who is labeled as 'Prime Minister in waiting'. Mahathir initially stated that he would resign as Prime Minister after APEC Malaysia 2020. 22 February – Six-time Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) has officially moved into their new Sultan Ibrahim Stadium from Larkin Stadium, its previous venue. The new stadium was officiated by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar on Saturday night. 23 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: Some political parties held extraordinary meetings; UMNO at Putra World Trade Center (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur, BERSATU at its headquarters at Menara Yayasan Selangor in Petaling, PAS and Umno in Janda Baik, Pahang, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in Kuala Lumpur. PKR Deputy President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Dato' Seri Mohamad Azmin Ali also held a meeting with several lawmakers from the party and 20 others at the Sheraton Hotel, Petaling. The meeting became known as the Sheraton Move. Azmin and PKR allies went to Istana Negara in the evening to ask to see the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Leaders from other political parties include Muhyiddin Yassin (BERSATU) who is also the Home Minister, Dato' Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Umno), Dato' Seri Abang Johari Tun Openg (GPS), Dato' Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (WARISAN) and Dato' Seri Seri Tuan Guru Hadi Awang (PAS) was also present. Anwar is said to be aware of a new political movement involving a small group from Bersatu and PKR. 24 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is also Anwar's wife as well as AMANAH President, Mohamad Sabu and DAP Secretary General, Lim Guan Eng, went to Mahathir's residence to hold a meeting to get an explanation about the previous day's incident. Azmin and the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Zuraida Kamaruddin who is also the Vice President of PKR have been sacked from the PKR party. Azmin then announced that he would form an independent bloc in Parliament with Zuraida and 9 other MPs who decided to leave the party following their expulsion. Mahathir Mohamad announced his resignation as Chairman of BERSATU. Following his resignation, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang accepted Mahathir's resignation and appointed him as Interim Prime Minister until a new Prime Minister is elected. BERSATU and PKR's Azmin Ali left the coalition, which caused Pakatan Harapan lost majority as government. The cabinet was automatically dissolved by Tun Mahathir's resignation. 24 February – High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali has ruled that former prime minister Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak's defence team cannot compel Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer (IO) Mohd Nasharudin Amir into being interviewed prior to him testifying in court. 25 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: The first interview session held by Agong at Istana Negara; a total of 90 Members of Parliament randomly (not according to party) were called before the YDPA starting at 2:30 pm today. This interview session (2-3 minutes) between YDPA and Members of Parliament aims to determine support for certain parties to form a new government. Umno and PAS, which are the first group to have interview session with Agong, stated that they support for Mahathir to continue as Prime Minister. UMNO Secretary General Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the basis of negotiations with Mahathir was that Umno and PAS would give their support to form an alternative coalition without DAP. On the other hand, both Umno and PAS declared support for the election to be held. Reports suggest that Mahathir is setting up a 'Unity Government' on the condition that the two sides cannot agree. 26 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: The remaining 131 Members of Parliament will be summoned before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong today. (No former Minister or Deputy Minister will participate in this session). Tun Mahathir apologized for the political crisis and explained the reason for his resignation. He wants to create a government that is non-partisan (non-partisan) that is made up of individuals rather than political parties. 27 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: Mahathir once again went to the palace to see the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The purpose of the meeting is not known although there is much speculation that Mahathir discussed the formation of a new cabinet. At noon, Bersatu Secretary General, Dato' Marzuki Yahya, confirmed that Mahathir had withdrawn his resignation as Bersatu Chairman. 27 February – The High Court heard that businessman Jho Low had referred to former prime minister Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak as his "boss" when dealing with sums of money totalling RM170 million that were transferred in and out of Putrajaya Perdana Bhd’s (PPB) subsidiaries from SRC International Sdn Bhd. 28 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: A meeting of the Council of Rulers was held in the morning at the Istana Negara to discuss political changes in the country, with state rulers or their crown princes present. Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Dato' Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof denied Mahathir's announcement regarding the Special Session of Parliament. Ariff said that he had received a letter from Mahathir stating that the government had agreed to hold a special meeting on March 2 but this announcement did not comply with Meeting Regulation 11(3). The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will call the leaders of political parties that have members of parliament to appear before him, to enable them to nominate a candidate for the position of Prime Minister to resolve the impasse. But the Agong is said to be unable to find a candidate who has the confidence of the majority of MPs to form a new government. BERSATU then issued a statement that they announcing their support for BERSATU President, Muhyiddin Yassin as the Prime Minister candidate, supported by 26 BERSATU Members of Parliament and 10 others led by Azmin. More than 60 Members of Parliament from UMNO, PAS, MCA and MIC also announced their support for Muhyiddin. Attorney General Tommy Thomas sent his resignation letter to the Interim Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, but no reason was given. 29 February – 2020 Malaysian political crisis: Bersatu Youth chief, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman declared that he will not cooperate with those involved in corruption to form the government, he was referring to Umno. The Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council held a meeting to discuss the current political situation in the country. After the meeting ended, they, then announced their support for Mahathir as the Prime Minister candidate, thus setting aside the coalition's stance supporting PKR President, Anwar Ibrahim as the Prime Minister candidate.