Kuala Lampur, Feb. 12 -- Malaysia is a federation. In "Know what a federation is" I explained three distinct and defining characteristics that make a federation different from other political systems.

The first characteristic is that federal systems have at least two levels of government: a central or federal government and a regional or state government.

The federal government governs the entire country in relation to matters of importance to every citizen like national security, national infrastructure, foreign policy, trade, macroeconomic policy, immigration and citizenship.

The state government operates within each of the territories into which the country is divided. Each of the state governments has control over certain defined m...