EXCERPTS OF PANELLISTS ’ DIALOGUE
In
of the “ Yang Di-Pertuan Agong ”, the constitutional monarch of the nation . The Council of Rulers agreed on the position being rotated every five years among the State Sultans . It was a unique arrangement , and one that perfectly reflects the relationship and collaboration between federal and state governments ,” Tun explained .
He continued , “ When the Malay states became independent in 1957 , it became independent as a federation . The administration of a federation is far more complex than that of a union . There has to be a division of power between the states and the central government . This was worked out well by people who were quite knowledgeable about the administrations of the Malay states . Some of the former British civil servants understood the sensitivities of the
EXCERPTS OF PANELLISTS ’ DIALOGUE
Associate Professor Dr . Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk Director , Centre for Policy Research and International Studies , USM
“ order to talk about federalism , one has to understand what we mean by federalism . Federalism essentially refers to governmental systems whereby there is a clear division of power between the centre and the constituent parts . These constituent parts are referred to by provinces , cantons ( in Switzerland ) and in our case , states . It has been discussed in many academic journals that federalism as a concept is fairly new . It is claimed that it was invented by the Americans , that before the United States of America , there was no federalism .
If we look at the history of the US we can then understand why the Founding Fathers chose federalism as a new form of government for the thirteen colonies . One of the primary reasons was because the Americans had a huge distrust of power . So by choosing federalism , they could ensure that the central government would remain weak . Having said that , we need to understand that there are also different theories on how to conceptualise federal-state relations .”
Associate Professor Dr . Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz Lecturer , IIUM
“
When
I read the constitution , I found that there are two different treatments given to the Semenanjung Tanah Melayu states compared with Sabah and Sarawak . When we formed the Federation of Malay States in 1957 , there was no formal negotiation between the states and the federation in terms of the power they wish to retain . But when we formed Malaysia in 1963 , Sabah and Sarawak made many requests . These are stated in the 18- and 20-Point Agreements ( Perjanjian 20 Perkara Sabah & Perjanjian 18 Perkara Sarawak ), of which some of the points have been included in the constitution .
Therefore the constitution will be the ultimate reference . We have a written constitution . It is the supreme law of the land . What does it mean ? It is the final reference and it is also an agreement between the states forming the federation . If we have any dispute , we have to go back to the constitution . When it comes to federal-state relations , there is a specific provision under Part 6 of the constitution . Part 6 contains 8 chapters which describe the relationship between the federal and the state government .”
10 PERDANA MAGAZINE 2016