Article 8 and 11

Federal Constitution of Malaysia

Article 8

1. All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

2. Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

Article 11

1. Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

2. No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.

Withdrawing citizenship is against the contitution

Article 9 (1). No citizen shall be banished or excluded from the Federation.

This means I cant be banished (meaning my citizenship is withdrawn) just because I oppose the government (like how many Umno people want the government to do).

Emergency law

Article 4 (1). This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

This Article of the Constitution means that any laws that Parliament passes after Merdeka that violates or contradicts the Constitution are null and void. The Internal Security Act would be one such law but since it was passed as an ‘emergency law’ during the Malayan Emergency, then this makes the law valid.

The question, however, is that since the Emergency (war with the Communist Party of Malaya) and the Konfrantasi (with Indonesia) have both ended with the signing of peace treaties, should the Emergency not therefore be lifted? And if it should, then how can Malaysia retain emergency laws like the Internal Security Act?

Will the Emergency continue in Malaysia until the end of time and in that same spirit emergency laws that violate the Constitution continue to operate?

Article 11

Article 11 memperincikan hak setiap warganegara menganut dan mengamalkan agamanya

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Article 11

(1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

(2) No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.

(3) Every religious group has the right -

(a) to manage its own religious affairs;

(b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and

(c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.

(4) State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Lubuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

(5) This Article does not authorize any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality.
12

(1) Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth -

(a) in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority, and, in particular, the admission of pupils or students or the payment of fees; or

(b) in providing out of the funds of a public authority financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority and whether within or outside the Federation).

(2) Every religious group has the right to establish and maintain institutions for the education of children in its own religion, and there shall be no discrimination on the ground only of religion in any law relating to such institutions or in the administration of any such law; but it shall be lawful for the Federation or a State to establish or maintain or assist in establishing or maintaining Islamic institutions or provide or assist in providing instruction in the religion of Islam and incur such expenditure as may be necessary for the purpose.

(3) No person shall be required to receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own.

(4) For the purposes of Clause (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian.

Article 10

Artikel 10 Perlembagaan memperincikan hak-hak warganegara kepada kebebasan bersuara (a), kebebasan berhimpun secara aman (b), dan hak untuk berpersatuan (c)

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Article 10

(1) Subject to Clauses (2), (3) and (4) -

(a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression;

(b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms;

(c) all citizens have the right to form associations.

(2) Parliament may by law impose -

(a) on the rights conferred by paragraph (a) of Clause (1),such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, friendly relations with other countries, public order or morality and restrictions designed to protect the privileges of Parliament or of any Legislative Assembly or to provide against contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to any offence;

(b) on the right conferred by paragraph (b) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, or public order;

(c) on the right conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, public order or morality.

(3) Restrictions on the right to form associations conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1) may also be imposed by any law relating to labour or education.

(4) In imposing restrictions in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof or public order under Clause (2) (a), Parliament may pass law prohibiting the questioning of any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III, article 152, 153 or 181 otherwise than in relation to the implementation thereof as may be specified in such law.

the Federal Constitution of Malaysia

Malaysia Today

Malaysia has a law called the Sedition Act and to make a statement asking for the abolishment of the Monarchy is seditious(provocative) and a crime under the Sedition Act.

The Federal Constitution of Malaya came into force on 27 August 1957, four days before independence.

Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore merged to form Malaysia in 1963.

Tunku Abdul Rahman did not agree that Lee Kuan Yew call himself Prime Minister of Singapore as the Tunku did not see how Malaysia could have two Prime Ministers. Lee Kuan Yew, on the other hand, did not agree to being ‘downgraded’ to a Chief Minister like Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak. - one of the reason Singapore broke off from Malaysia.

It must further be noted that, according to Shad Saleem Faruqi, as at 2005, the Constitution has been amended 42 times over the 48 years since independence. However, as several amendments were made each time, he estimates the true number of individual amendments at around 650.

The Constitution itself has provisions under Articles 159 and 161E on how it may be amended. And the amendments can be made by federal law and in the following ways:

1. Some Articles may be amended only by a two-thirds majority in each House of Parliament but only if the Conference of Rulers consents to it. This means, even if you have a two-thirds majority in Parliament, you can’t amend these Articles in the Constitution unless the Rulers agree to the amendments. This would be with regards to the following:

* Amendments pertaining to the powers of sultans and their respective states
* The status of Islam in the Federation
* The special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak
* The status of the Malay language as the official language

2. Some Articles in the Constitution related to Sabah and Sarawak may be amended by a two-thirds majority in each House of Parliament but only if the Governors of the two East Malaysian states concurs. This would be with regards to the following:

* Citizenship of persons born before Malaysia Day
* The constitution and jurisdiction of the High Court of Borneo
* The matters with respect to which the legislature of the state may or may not make laws, the executive authority of the state in those matters and financial arrangement between the Federal government and the state.
* Special treatment of natives of the state

3. Then there are some Articles in the Constitution that may be amended by a two-thirds majority in each House of Parliament. These amendments do not require the consent of anybody outside Parliament. (The extension of the tenure of the Chairman of the Elections Commission is one case in point).

4. Some Articles, which are not that important, may be amended by Parliament with just a simple majority. You, therefore, do not need a two-thirds majority in Parliament in some cases.

It has been estimated that between 1957 and 2003, almost thirty Articles have been added and repealed(canceled) as a consequence of the frequent amendments.

can you now see the logic in not allowing any one group, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, in having a two-thirds majority in Parliament? Giving them two-thirds is like having no opposition at all. Better they rule without the two-thirds and the ‘other side’ supports any bills that deserve supporting while they can oppose anything that should be opposed. If this were the case then the Chairman of the Elections Commission would have never seen his tenure extended and the recent general election would not have been rife with fraud.