List of amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia

As of February 2023, there have been 61 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia since it was first enacted in 1957. The provision to amend the Constitution falls under Article 159. The constitution can be altered through an amendment Act supported by two-thirds of the members of Parliament.

List # Amendments Amending law/authority and short title In force from 1st Amend article 34 Ord. 42/1958 Constitution (Temporary Amendment) Ordinance 1958 05-12-1958 2nd Amend articles 15, 16, 17, 23, 30, 34, 42, 43, 48, 56, 57, 61, 76, 114, 119, 122, 125, 132, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 145, 148, 149, 150, 151, 154, 174Insert articles 43A, 95AAmend schedule 2 Act 10/1960 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1960 31-05-1960 except s.13 and para.17(d): 31-08-1957; s.31: 08-08-1960; s.3: 11-09-1960; s.2, 33 and 35: 01-12-1960; s.22, 24 and para. 27(a) and (c):01-04-1961; s.26: 16-09-1963 3rd Amend articles 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, 39, 46, 62, 65, 67, 76, 99, 108, 110, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 125, 132, 148, 155, 159, 160Insert articles 15A, 26A, 26BRemove articles 17, 20, 21Amend schedules 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 13 Act 14/1962 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1962 s.8, 13, 24 and 30: 31-08-1957; s.32 (para.14 of Schedule:01-12-1960;s.12, 14, 15, 17 to 23, 28, 29 and 34, s.32 (subsubpara.(c) of para.1 of Schedule and para.4 to para.11 of Schedule) : 21-06-1962; s.16, 25 and 33: 15-07-1962; s.2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 26 and 27, s.32 (para.3 and 12 of Schedule): 01-10-1962; s.5, s.32 (subsubpara.(a) and (b) of para.1 of Schedule): 01-07-1963; s.7, s.32 (para.2 of Schedule): 01-02-1964; s.32 (para.13 of Schedule): 16-09-1963 4th Amend articles 12, 16, 18, 50, 71, 74, 109, 118, 131, 139, 144, 159, 160, 161, 162, 166, 167Remove articles 163, 164, 165, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173Amend schedules 3, 7, 9, 10, 11Remove schedule 12 Act 25/1963 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1963 29-08-1963 except s.2 and 5: 31-08-1957; s.7: 01-01-1958 5th Amend articles 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26A, 28, 30, 31, 37, 38, 42, 45, 46, 48, 53, 54, 65, 71, 76, 80, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95A, 105, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 148, 150, 151, 152, 158, 159, 160, 161, 169Insert articles 16A, 19A, 28A, 30A, 30B, 76A, 95B, 95C, 95D, 95E, 112A, 112B, 112C, 112D, 112E, 122A, 122B, 122C, 131A, 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D, 159A, 161A, 161B, 161C, 161D, 161E, 161F, 161G, 161HRemove articles 21, 129, 174Amend schedules 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 Act 26/1963 Malaysia Act 16-09-1963 except s.37: 31-08-1957 When Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963, the Malaysia Act was passed in Parliament to amend the Constitution to provide for the name change and the inclusion of the three new states. 6th Amend articles 9, 26, 35, 45, 57, 62, 160Insert articles 43B, 43CAmend schedule 8 Act 19/1964 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1964 30-07-1964 except s.5: 16-09-1963; s.4: 01-01-1965 7th Amend articles 54, 95C, 120, 122, 132, 146A, 160Insert article 118AAmend schedules 7, 8, 9, 11 Act 31/1965 Constitution and Malaysia Act (Amendment) Act 1965 01-07-1965 except Part I of First Schedule and Second Schedule: 16-09-1963; Part II of First Schedule–amendment of Article 132 of the Constitution–Malacca: 01-05-1960; and Penang: 01-11-1959 8th Act 53/1965 Constitution and Malaysia (Singapore Amendment) Act 1965 09-08-1965Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state 9th Amend articles 1, 3, 9, 14, 15, 16, 16A, 18, 19, 26A, 28A, 30, 42, 46, 54, 55, 71, 88, 95B, 95D, 95E, 112A, 112B, 113, 121, 122A, 122B, 125, 139, 144, 146A, 146B, 146C, 148, 159, 159A, 160, 169Remove articles 19A, 30A, 30B, 112E, 116F, 116G, 116HAmend schedules 2, 8, 9, 10 Act 59/1966 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1966 19-09-1966 except Schedule (amendments of Articles 1, 3, 14, 15, 16, 16A, 18, 19, 19A, 26A, 28A, 30, 30A, 30B, 42, 46, 88, 95B, 95D, 95E, 112A, 112B, 112E, 113, 121, 122A, 122B, 146B, 146C(1), 159, 160, 161F-161H, 169, Second Schedule, Eighth Schedule (s.23) and Ninth Schedule: 09-08-1965; Schedule (amendments of Article 71): 16-09-1963; Schedule (amendments of Tenth Schedule: 01-01-1963) 10th Amend article 150 Act 68/1966 Emergency (Federal Constitution and Constitution of Sarawak) Act 1966 20-09-1966 11th Amend articles 135, 139Amend schedule 8 Act 27/1968 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1968 09-09-1968 12th Amend article 54Amend schedules 8, 13 Act A1 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1969 18-11-1968 13th Amend article 122A P.U. (B) 83/1969 Resolution pursuant to Article 122A(1) 10-04-1969 14th P.U. (A) 146/1969 Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 1969 15-05-1969 15th P.U. (A) 170/1969 Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 1969 15-05-1969 16th P.U. (A) 143/1970 Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 32, 1970 12-05-1970 17th Amend articles 10, 63, 72, 152, 153, 159, 161A Act A30 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1971 10-03-1971 One of the most controversial amendments in Malaysia's Constitution is the Constitution (Amendment) Act, 1971, which came in the wake of the May 13, 1969 racial riots.

Known as the “Sensitive Matters Amendment,” it revised Article 10 – which safeguards freedom of speech – to empower Parliament to pass laws to restrict public discussion on four “sensitive” issues: citizenship; the national language and the languages of other communities; the special position and privileges of the Malays and natives of the Borneo states, and the legitimate interests of other communities; and the rulers’ sovereignty. Before the Act, the Conference of Rulers’ consent was required only for amendments to provisions related to the rulers, and the special rights and privileges of the Malays and the legitimate interests of other communities.

As a result of the Act, consent was also required for other provisions, such as Article 10 (freedom of speech), Article 63 (privileges of Parliament), Article 72 (privileges of the state legislative assembly) and Article 152 (national language).

Article 153 originally provided for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be the guardian of the special position of the Malays and the legitimate interests of other communities. It also empowered him to ensure that a reasonable proportion of opportunities was reserved for the Malays in public service, education, and for permits and licences.

The 1971 amendment allowed the natives of the Borneo states to have the same status as the Malays.

It also empowered the Agong to direct any institution of higher learning to reserve a reasonable proportion of places for the Malays and natives, should the number of places be less than the number of qualified candidates. 18th Amend articles 40, 43A, 43B, 54, 61, 125, 135, 137, 144, 159, 160, 162Amend schedules 3, 5, 8 Act A31 Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1971 24-03-1971 except s.4: 19-09-1966 19th Amend articles 132, 135, 144Insert article 141AAmend schedule 8 Act A193 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1973 05-05-1973 except s.2, 3, 4 and 5: 01-01-1974 20th Amend articles 1, 3, 11, 42, 46, 97, 113, 116Amend schedules 9, 11 Act A206 Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1973 Part I and Schedule: 01-02-1974; Part II and III: 23-08-1973 21st Amend articles 25, 48Amend schedules 2, 8 Act 160 Malaysian Currency (Ringgit) Act 1975 29-08-1975 22nd Act A335 Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1976 01-02-1974 23rd Amend articles 1, 3, 5, 11, 12, 19, 24, 25, 28A, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 42, 48, 54, 55, 65, 70, 71, 76, 88, 91, 95A, 97, 99, 100, 101, 106, 107, 108, 111, 112, 112A, 112C, 113, 114, 121, 122, 122A, 122B, 128, 132, 135, 138, 140, 141A, 144, 145, 146, 146B, 146C, 146D, 148, 150, 151, 153, 160, 161, 161A, 161B, 161E, 169Insert articles 125ARemove articles 146A, 161C, 161DAmend schedules 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 Act A354 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1976 27-08-1976 except s.48: 01-01-1976 24th Amend schedule 10 Act A392 Capitation Grant Act 1977 01-01-1976 25th Amend articles 45, 135, 141A, 149 Act A442 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1978 31-12-1978 26th Amend articles 15, 16A, 28A, 38, 42, 45, 48, 52, 55, 56, 57, 70, 71, 88, 89, 95B, 95D, 95E, 112A, 112B, 112C, 112D, 114, 121, 122B, 139, 142, 143, 146D, 149, 150, 153, 161, 161A, 161B, 161E, 169Remove articles 141, 146C, 146DAmend schedules 2, 5, 8, 9, 10 Act A514 Capitation Grant Act 1981 15-05-1981 except s.19: 27-08-1976 27th Amend article 122 P.U. (A) 114/1982 Constitution of the Federal Court (Judges) Order 1982 01-05-1982 28th Amend articles 1, 37, 43A, 43B, 46, 48, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 66, 80, 87, 90, 105, 114, 121, 122, 122A, 122B, 122C, 123, 124, 125, 125A, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131A, 138, 142, 143, 145, 150, 151, 152, 160, 161, 161A, 161BRemove article 131Amend schedules 8, 9 Act A566 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1983 16-12-1983 except s.15, 16, 17: 01-01-1985; s.2: 01-02-1974 29th Amend articles 66, 150Amend schedule 8 Act A584 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1984 20-01-1984 except s.4: 16-12-1983 30th Amend articles 1, 3, 11, 42, 45, 46, 54, 55, 86, 89, 97, 113, 140, 161AAmend schedules 8, 9, 11 Act A585 Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1984 Part III: 14-04-1984 except s.24 : 01-02-1974; Part I and Part II: 16-04-1984 31st Amend articles 46, 61 Act A631 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1985 24-02-1986 32nd Amend articles 5, 83, 85, 86, 118A, 121, 142, 145Remove articles 84, 158Amend schedule 9 Act A704 Constitution (Amendment) Act 1988 10-06-1988 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis

Another milestone in the Constitution's evolution was the amendment to Article 121 in 1988, which effectively put the judiciary under Parliament's influence. The attorney-general was also empowered to determine the courts for cases to be heard.

To the legal fraternity and civil society, this eroded the judiciary's autonomy and weakened the separation of powers between the three branches of government – the judiciary, the executive and the legislature.

The amendment came in the wake of a series of court cases where the executive accused the judiciary of encroaching on its powers. These cases included a court ruling overturning the government's decision to revoke a foreign correspondent's work permit, judicial reviews of ministerial decisions such as the award of the North South Highway project to UEM, and the declaration of Umno as illegal following a dispute over the party's election in 1987.

Then Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas, and several judges, wrote a letter to the King about the efforts to undermine public confidence in the judiciary. He was charged with writing the letter without the approval of all the judges and displaying bias against the government, and was dismissed in August 1988.

Five Supreme Court judges who objected to the tribunal set up to decide Salleh's fate were suspended. They were the late Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader, Tan Sri Azmi Kamaruddin, Tan Sri Wan Hamzah Salleh and Datuk George Seah. After Salleh's dismissal, a second tribunal was convened to deal with the five judges, resulting in the dismissal of Wan Suleiman and Seah, while the others were acquitted.