Malik was a
Glasgow City Councillor for the
one-member ward of
Hillhead from 1995 to 2007, then as one of four in the
larger multi-member of the same name from
2007 to
2012. In his role as a councillor, Malik was a member of council committees which included Education, Development and Regeneration, Finance, Housing, Licensing, Policy and Resources. Malik was elected as a Labour MSP for the
Glasgow region in the
2011 Scottish Parliament election (he declined to vacate his council seat until elections the following year, despite a by-election already being arranged for the ward after the death of another councillor). He was eleventh on Labour's regional list at the
election in May 2016 and was not re-elected. He was re-elected as a Glasgow City councillor, again for Hillhead, in
May 2017. Malik endorsed
Anas Sarwar in the
2021 Scottish Labour leadership election. == Personal life and death ==