The Federal Constitution of Malaysia (), which came into force in 1957 as the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and was amended in 1963 to form the Constitution of Malaysia, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles.https://jac.gov.my/libraries/pdf.js/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fjac.gov.my%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdocuments%2FFederal%2520Constitution.pdf ConstitutionSee Article 4(1) of the Constitution which states that "The Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law which is passed after Merdeka Day (31 August 1957) which is inconsistent with the Constitution shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void." It is a written legal document influenced by two previous documents, the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948 and the Independence Constitution of 1957. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the states of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (now independent) became part of the Federation.Article 1(1) of the Constitution originally read "The Federation shall be known by the name of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (in English the Federation of Malaya)". This was amended in 1963 when Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore formed a new federation to "The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia." The Constitution establishes the Federation as a constitutional monarchy, having the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of State with largely ceremonial roles.See Article 32(1) of the Constitution which provides that "There shall be a Supreme Head of the Federation, to be called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong..." and Article 40 which provides that in the exercise of his functions under the Constitution or federal law the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or an authorised minister except as otherwise provide in certain limited circumstances, such as the appointment of the Prime Minister and the withholding of consent to a request to dissolve Parliament. It provides for the establishment and organisation of three main branches of the government: the bicameral legislative branch called the Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) and the Senate (Dewan Negara); the executive branch led by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers and the judicial branch headed by the Federal Court.These are provided for in various parts of the Constitution: For the establishment of the legislative branch see Part IV Chapter 4 – Federal Legislature, for the executive branch see Part IV Chapter 3 – The Executive and for the judicial branch see Part IX.
History
Constitutional Conference: A constitutional conference was held in London from 18 January to 6 February 1956 attended by a delegation from the Federation of Malaya, consisting of four representatives of the Rulers, the Chief Minister of the Federation (Tunku Abdul Rahman) and three other ministers, and also by the British High Commissioner in Malaya and his advisers.See paragraph 3 of the Report by the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Conference
Reid Commission: The conference proposed the appointment of a commission to devise a constitution for a fully self-governing and independent Federation of Malaya.See paragraphs 74 and 75 of the report by the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Conference This proposal was accepted by Queen Elizabeth II and the Malay Rulers. Accordingly, pursuant to such agreement, the Reid Commission, consisting of constitutional experts from fellow Commonwealth countries and headed by Lord (William) Reid, a distinguished Lord-of-Appeal-in-Ordinary, was appointed to make recommendations for a suitable constitution. The report of the commission was completed on 11 February 1957. The report was then examined by a working party appointed by the British Government, the Conference of Rulers and the Government of the Federation of Malaya and the Federal Constitution was enacted on the basis of its recommendations.Wu Min Aun (2005).The Malaysian Legal System, 3rd Ed., pp. 47 and 48.: Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd. .
Constitution: The Constitution as set out under the First Schedule of the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 was approved by the Federal Legislative Council on 15 August 1957 through the enactment of Federal Constitution Ordinance 1957, which became effective on 27 August 1957. On 31 August 1957, the Federal Constitution officially came into force and Malaya achieved its independence on that day.The constitutional machinery devised to bring the new constitution into force consisted of:
In the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957, together with the Orders in Council made under it. The Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, made on 5 August 1957 between the British Monarch and the Rulers of the Malay States. In the Federation, the Federal Constitution Ordinance 1957, passed by the Federal Legislative Council of the Federation of Malaya formed under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948. The ordinance dictated that the Federal Constitution shall come into force on 31 August 1957. In each of the Malay states, State Enactments, and in Malacca and Penang, resolutions of the State Legislatures, approving and giving force of law to the federal constitution. This constitution was amended in 1963 by the Malaysia Act to admit Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore as additional member states of the Federation and to make the agreed changes to the constitution that were set out in the Malaysia Agreement, which included changing the name of the Federation to "Malaysia". Thus, legally speaking, the establishment of Malaysia did not create a new nation as such but was simply the addition of new member states to the Federation created by the 1957 constitution, with a change of name.See for example Professor A. Harding who wrote that "...Malaysia came into being on 16 September 1963...not by a new Federal Constitution, but simply by the admission of new States to the existing but renamed Federation under Article 1 of the Constitution..." See Harding (2012).The Constitution of Malaysia – A Contextual Analysis, p. 146: Hart Publishing. . See also JC Fong (2008), Constitutional Federalism in Malaysia, p. 2: "Upon the formation of the new Federation on September 16, 1963, the permanent representative of Malaya notified the United Nations' Secretary-General of the Federation of Malaya's change of name to Malaysia. On the same day, the permanent representative issued a statement to the 18th Session of the 1283 Meeting of the UN General Assembly, stating, inter alia, that "constitutionally, the Federation of Malaya, established in 1957 and admitted to membership of this Organisation the same year, and Malaysia are one and the same international person. What has happened is that, by constitutional process, the Federation has been enlarged by the addition of three more States, as permitted and provided for in Article 2 of the Federation of Malaya Constitution and that the name 'Federation of Malaya' has been changed to "Malaysia"". The constitutional position therefore, is that no new state has come into being but that the same State has continued in an enlarged form known as Malaysia so."
Structure The Constitution, in its current form (1 November 2010), consists of 15 Parts containing 230 articles and 13 schedules (including 57 amendments).
Parts
Part I – The States, Religion and Law of the Federation Contains four articles; article 1 to 4. It pertains to the States and Federal Territories of the Federation, admission of new territories, Islam as the Religion of the Federation and the Constitution as the Law of the Federation. But "other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation".
Part II – Fundamental Liberties Contains nine articles; article 5 to 13. It pertains to the liberties of a person as guaranteed by the Constitution, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, protection against retrospective criminal laws and repeated trials, equality before the law, prohibition of banishment and freedom of movement, Freedom of speech, assembly and association, freedom of religion, rights in respect of education and rights to property.
Part III – Citizenship Divided into three chapters and contains twenty-six articles; article 14 to 31, minus deleted articles 17, 19A, 20, 21, 30A and 30B. It pertains to various procedures and conditions to acquire Citizenship, its termination procedures and provisions as well as supplemental articles related to citizenship such as Commonwealth Citizenship, citizenship certificate and application of second schedule.
Part IV – The Federation Divided into six chapters and contains forty-two articles; article 32 to 69. It details on the structure of the federal government which is composed of Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the supreme head of the Federation, his consort, his deputy, the conference of rulers, the Prime Minister as the head of government and the establishment and proceedings of Parliament of Malaysia as the Federal Legislature. Chapter 1, 2 and 3 describes the powers of Yang di-Pertuan Agong, his consort, his deputy, the conference of rulers and the cabinet as the executive authority of the federation. Chapter 4 and 5 addresses issues like the qualifications of the elected Members of Parliament, the summoning, prorogation and dissolution of the legislature, the election of the Speaker, legislative powers and procedures, and the remuneration of the members of Parliament. Finally, Chapter 6 addresses the capacity of the federation to acquire, hold or dispose of property of any kind, and to sue or be sued.
Part V – The States Part VI – Relations Between the Federation and the States Part VII – Financial Provisions Part VIII – Elections Part IX – The Judiciary Part X – Public Services Part XI – Special Powers Against Subversion, Organised Violence, and Acts and Crimes Prejudicial to the Public and Emergency Powers Part XII – General and Miscellaneous Part XIIA – Additional Protections for States of Sabah and Sarawak Part XIII – Temporary and Transitional Provisions Part XIV – Saving for Rulers' Sovereignty, etc. Part XV – Proceedings Against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers
Schedules The following is a list of the schedules to the Constitution. First Schedule [Articles 18(1), 19(9)] – Oath of Applications for Registration or Naturalization Second Schedule [Article 39] – Citizenship by operation of law of persons born before, on or after Malaysia Day and supplementary provisions relating to citizenship Third Schedule [Articles 32 and 33] – Election of Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong Fourth Schedule [Article 37] – Oaths of Office of Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong Fifth Schedule [Article 38(1)] – The Conference of Rulers Sixth Schedule [Articles 43(6), 43B(4), 57(1A)(a), 59(1), 124, 142(6)] – Forms of Oaths and Affirmations Seventh Schedule [Article 45] – Election of Senators Eighth Schedule [Article 71] – Provisions to be inserted in State Constitutions Ninth Schedule [Articles 74, 77] – Legislative Lists Tenth Schedule [Articles 109, 112C, 161C(3)*] – Grants and Sources of Revenue assigned to States Eleventh Schedule [Article 160(1)] – Provisions of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance 1948 (Malayan Union Ordinance No. 7 of 1948), Applied for Interpretation of the Constitution Twelfth Schedule – Provisions of the Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948 as Applied to the Legislative Council after Merdeka Day (Repealed) Thirteenth Schedule [Articles 113, 116, 117] – Provisions relating to delimitation of Constituencies
*NOTE—This Article was repealed by Act A354, section 46, in force from 27-08-1976—see section 46 of Act A354.
Fundamental Liberties