In
rulers and their states . They figured out how to bring the states together in a federation while allowing the states to retain some of its identity and the power of the Sultans . Eventually , of course , this became part of the written constitution .”
Tun pointed out that the federation model has worked well for Malaysia : “ Malaysia can congratulate itself because it has made the federation model work despite having nine Sultans plus one Yang Di-Pertua Agong and despite states having to share their wealth and power . Malaysia has developed well , in some cases better than unitary states which gained Independence after the war , and could be the model for other states . There are many countries that are divided into districts or provinces and each may have their own head such as the governor of provinces in Japan , but they are still unitary in terms of systems of
Tuan Abdul Rahim Sinwan Vice President , Muslim Lawyers Association
“
When
the federation was proposed , the Sultans wanted certain terms to be complied with , and these terms became the basic structure of the Constitution . They dealt with : 1 ) the religion of Islam ; 2 ) the preservation of the monarchy as an institution , 3 ) the land belonging to the states , 4 ) the Malay language or Bahasa Melayu and 5 ) Malay customs and practices .
Would amending the Constitution affect the rights of the Raja-raja Melayu ? It ’ s not easy to say . We do not have a Constitutional Court like in Indonesia and Thailand . What we have is the Federal Court . The legislative ’ s duty is to legislate the law ; the court ’ s is to interpret the law . Laws which have been promulgated may sometimes be challenged . The challenge will be mounted in the Federal Court which will make the decision whether the law is constitutional or otherwise . That is the position in Malaysia .”
Professor Dato ’ Dr . Ahmad Murad Merican ( Moderator )
“ fact , constitutional literacy is very important for every citizen . The least read document by Malaysian citizens ( with the exception of the police and lawyers ) must be the Federal Constitution ! I remember in 1957 before we got independent , Kelantan and Penang had problems joining the Federation of Malaya . I speculated that Penang would secede from Malaysia one day . If that happens , then we ’ d need passports to go to Penang !
Although Tun pointed out that secession is against the constitution , it is an unwritten agreement . There are provisions on changing borders ( but not on secession ). I would like to mention that Dr . Shamrahayu ’ s latest book , “ Kontrak Sosial : Perlembagaan Persekutuan 1957 Pengikat Jati Diri Bangsa Malaysia Merdeka ”, contains original documents from the Public Record Office of Kew Gardens , and is a good complement to our understanding of the federal constitution .”
PERDANA MAGAZINE 2016 11