Language Religion citizenship special priviledges personal

liberties
Main provision in
the constitution
1he maln provlslon ln Lhe Malavslan
ConsLlLuLlon
W 1 8LLlClCn
W lslam as an offlclal rellalon ls one of Lhe crlLerla ln
Malavslan consLlLuLlon
W lreedom of rellalon as a mulLl rellalous socleLv buL
Lhls prlnclple ls ln no wav conLrarv Lo Lhe prlnclple
LhaL lslam ls Lhe rellalon of Lhe federaLlon
W ArL 11(1) Lverv person has Lhe rlahL Lo profess and
pracLlce hls rellalon
W ArL11(1) allows Lhe sLaLe Lo lealslaLe for Lhe conLrol
or resLrlcLlon of Lhe propaaaLlon of anv
W rellalons docLrlne amona person professlna
lslam
W 1/fore whlle safeauardlna freedom of
rellalon draw a dlsLlncLlon beLween
pracLlce and propaaaLlon of rellalon
W Lverv rellalous aroup has Lhe rlahL
W a Lo manaae lLs own rellalous affalrs
W bLo esLabllsh and malnLaln lnsLlLuLlon for
rellalous or charlLable purpose
W cLo acqulre and own properLv and hold
and admlnlsLer lL ln accordance wlLh Lhe
law
W ArL 12(1) prevenLs dlscrlmlnaLlon on rellalous
arounds ln Lhe admlnlsLraLlon of publlc educaLlon
and scholarshlp
W ArL 12(2) alves everv rellalons aroup Lhe rlahL Lo
esLabllsh and malnLaln lnsLlLuLlon for Lhe educaLlon
of chlldren ln lLs own rellalon
W 1he same clause adds LhaL Lhe sLaLe or Lhe
federaLlon mav esLabllsh or malnLaln lnsLlLuLlon
provldlna lnsLrucLlon ln lslam
W ArL(12)3 no person shall be requlred Lo recelve
lnsLrucLlon ln or Lo Lake parL ln anv ceremonv or acL
of worshlp of a rellalon oLher Lhan hls own
W 2 CCnvL8SlCn Anu 8LLlClCuS l8LLuCM
W Case 1eoh Lna PuaL (1990)
W ArL 12(3) refer back
W ArL12(4) 1he rellalon of a person under Lhe aae of 18
vears shall be declded bv hls parenL or auardlan
W 1/fore Lhe [udae held LhaL Lhe aae of ma[orlLv under
arL 12 had no appllcaLlon Lo arL 11 and applled Lhe
lslamlc aae of ma[orlLv
W 1he declaraLlon LhaL 1eoh had Lhe rlahL Lo declde hls
dauahLer's rellalon was refused Pe could declde on
her upbrlnalna and her educaLlon unLll she aLLaln
ma[orlLv buL onlv so
W far as Lhls rlahL dld noL confllcL wlLh her cholce of rellalon
W ln 1988 lslamlc law blll was lnLroduce clause 67" a person
who ls noL a Musllm mav converL Lo lslam lf he has aLLalned
Lhe aae of ma[orlLv accordlna Lo Pukum Svara' and ls of
sound
W 1hls lssue crlLlclze bv manv rellalons bodles and Lhls all
brouahL Lhe lssue of converslon Lo Lhe hlahesL levelLhe
prlme mlnlsLer lnLervenlna afLer Lhese proLesLaLlons
W ln March Lhe supreme CourL slLLlna ln a bench of 3 [udaes
flnallv pronounced on Leoh's appeallL held LhaL a person of
less Lhan 18 vears does noL have a
W consLlLuLlonal rlahL Lo choose hls own rellalon
W 1he eplsode shows LhaL how consLlLuLlon
lnLerpreLaLlon musL Lake lnLo accounL Lhe
condlLlon of socleLv
W LAnCuACL
W ArL 132(1) provldes LhaL Malav shall be Lhe
naLlonal lanauaae buL
W a no person shall be prohlblLed or prevenLed
from uslna or from Leachlna or leanlna anv oLher
lanauaae
W AfLer merdeka Lhere was a move Lowards Lhe
esLabllshmenL of 8M de facLo" as Lhe naLlonal and
offlclal lanauaae
W ArL 132(2) allowed Lnallsh Lo be used ln parllamenL
ln sLaLe assemblles and for offlclal purpose for 10
vears afLer merdeka
W Lnallsh Lo be Lhe lanauaae ln Lhe hlah courL and Lhe
federal courL
W Cn Lhe explrv of Lhe 10 vears1967 parllamenL dld
make provlslon for Lhe naLlonal lanauaae
W 1he poLenLlal confllcL beLween Lhe rlahL Lo use
lanauaaes oLher Lhan 8ahasa Malavsla
W for example ln educaLlon was explored ln
Lhe lmporLanL and conLroverslal case of
Merdeka unlverslLv 8hd vCovernmenL
Malavsla
W CLl1lCAL 8lCP1S
W Ceneral conslderaLlon under arL 10
deflned as rlahLs Lo parLlclpaLe ln Lhe
pollLlcal process oLher Lhan Lhrouah balloL
box ln oLher words Lhe rlahLs Lo freedom
of speech and expresslon assemblv and
assoclaLlon
W lreedom of speech
W Manv sLaLues whlch resLrlcLed Lhe rlahL of
freedom of speech and expresslon
W Lspeclallv wlLh reaard Lo Lhe senslLlve lssues
under sedlLlon acL prlnLlna presses and
publlcaLlon acL 1984 And offlclal secreL acL1971
W 1he offence mav be commlLLed bv Lhe prlnLer and
publlsher as well as bv speaker or wrlLer Cr bv
one who possesses or lmporLs sedlLlon maLLer
W @-
W 1he sedlLlon AcL was orlalnallv enacLed ln
19481he acL makes lL an offence Lo uLLer or
publlsh words whlch have a sedlLlous
Lendencv deflned as
W 8rlnalna lnLo haLred or conLempL or exclLlna
dlsaffecLlon aaalnsL anv 8uler or CovernmenL
W LxclLlna Lhe alLeraLlon oLher Lhan bv lawful
means of anv maLLer bv law esLabllshed
W 8rlnalna lnLo haLred or conLempL Lhe
admlnlsLraLlon of [usLlce
W 8alslna dlsconLenL or dlssaLlsfacLlon amona sub[ecL
W romoLlna lll wlll and hosLlllLv beLween races or classes
of Lhe populaLlon
W 1hls deflnlLlon ls of course verv wlde buL followlna a
1970 emeraencvlaw amendmenL Lo Lhe AcL ln Lhe
wake of Lhe 1969rloLs anoLher lLem was added Lo Lhe
deflnlLlon namelv
W CuesLlon anv maLLer rlahL sLaLusposlLlon prlvlleae
soverelanLv or preroaaLlve esLabllshed or proLecLed bv
arL or ArLs 132133 or 181 ( Lhe so called 'senslLlve
lssues')
W 1he [udae musL declde wheaLer Lhe words have a
sedlLlous Lendencv
W Lxample
W ln Melan bln Abdullah Cna Pock ?hve C! (Malava)
held Lhe accused aullLv of when he wroLe as an
edlLorlal subheadlna ' abollsh 1amll or Chlnese
medlum schools ln Lhls counLrv
W ln Cll kee Salk Lhe accused was convlcLed of sedlLlon
when he charaed Lhe aovernmenL wlLh provldlna
'comforLable shadv places for one aroup of clLlzen and
hoL uncomforLable places for oLher aroups of clLlzen'
W ConLempL of courL
W 1he law of conLempL of courL has also alven rlse Lo
some specLacular cases whlch deflne Lhe boundarles
of freedom of speech ln Lhe llahL of local
clrcumsLances
W Lxample ln Llm klL Slana v uaLo Serl ur MahaLhlr
Mohammad 1he rlme mlnlsLer hlmself was Lhe
sub[ecL of a conLempL of courL appllcaLlon bv Lhe
leader of opposlLlon 1he M had crlLlclzed Lhe courLs
for lnLerpreLlna sLaLuLes conLrarv Lo Lhe lnLenLlon of
parllamenL Mr Llm alleaed LhaL hls crlLlclsms were a
challenae Lo Lhe auLhorlLv of Lhe [udlclarv and Lhe
separaLlon of powers and lnLlmldaLed Lhe [udlclarv
W 1he Supreme CourL held LhaL Lhe M's
remarks dld noL consLlLuLe conLempL of
courL buL were 'an arLlculaLlon of Lhe
execuLlve's frusLraLlon ln noL belna able Lo
achleve lLs ob[ecLs ln maLLer where Lhe
lnLervenLlon of Lhe courLs has been souahL
Lo some avall' Powever Lhe remarks were
roundlv crlLlclzed bv Salleh Abas as a
mlsconcepLlon of Lhe consLlLuLlonal role of
Lhe courL
ress lreedom and Lhe llcenslna of newspapers
W 1he prlnLlna presses and publlcaLlon acL 1984
requlres Lhe keeper of a prlnLlna press Lo obLaln a
llcense from Lhe mlnlsLer and maklna a deposlL
Lhe amounL of whlch ls flxed bv hlm 1he
mlnlsLer's power Lo refuse Lo renew Lhe llcense ls
noL sub[ecL Lo [udlclal revlew 1hls power has
been used Lo conLrol Lhe press lor example 4
newspaper were closed ln 1987 durlna Lhe
'operasl lalana' crlsls A number of weeklv and
monLhlv [ournals have also been sub[ecLed Lo Lhls
procedure
freedom of assemblv
W lreedom of assemblv has been reaulaLed
bv Lhe ollce AcL 1967 and aaLherlnas of
more Lhan 3 persons ln publlc places
requlre a permlL whlch musL be applled for
14 davs ln advance
W Speclal rlvlleaes and lealLlmaLe
lnLeresL
W Speclal prlvlleaes Lo bumlpuLera Malavs
and naLlves of anv SLaLes of Sabah and
Sarawak"
W ln Malavsla Lhere ls an equlvalenL Lo Lhe lndlan
slLuaLlon ln Lhe sense LhaL Lhe lndlaenous orana
asll are aroup slmllar Lo Lhe Scheduled 1rlbes
belna backward and conflned Lo Lhe
mounLalnous [unale areas of cenLral Malava
W 1he consLlLuLlon provldes for Lhe valldlLv"anv
provlslon for Lhe proLecLlon well belna or
advancemenL of Lhe aborlalnes ( lncludlna Lhe
reservaLlon of land) or Lhe reservaLlon Lo
aborlalnes of a reasonable proporLlon of
sulLable poslLlons ln Lhe publlc servlce
W 1he [usLlflcaLlon for such an unusual slLuaLlon ls
LhaL Lhe bumlpuLra consLlLuLe hlsLorlcallv
economlcallv dlsadvanLaaed aroup who would
fall furLher behlnd lf rule of leaal equallLv were
sLrlcLlv observed
W AnoLole lrance wroLe of leaal equallLv Lhe
law ln lLs maalsLerlal equallLv forblds Lhe rlch
as well as Lhe poor from sleeplna under brldaes
and sLeallna bread" 1he raLlonal of poslLlve
dlscrlmlnaLlon ls lLself based on Lhe concepL of
equallLv Lo lmpose equallLv on alreadv
unequal aroups slmplv perpeLuaLes lnequallLv
W lL ls lnherenL ln Lhe concepL of equallLv LhaL
lnequallLv musL flrsL be overcome and lL ls
lnherenL also ln Lhe concepL of dlscrlmlnaLlon
LhaL aL some polnL lL musL be reaarded as
havlna fulfllled lLs purpose
W 1he consLlLuLlon doesn'L allow slmplv fklnd
of dlscrlmlnaLlon ln favour of bumlpuLra lL ls
noL a blank cheque buL merelv confers llmlLed
powers on aovernmenL and parllamenL
W ArL 133(1) savs LhaL lL ls Lhe responslblllLv of
Lhe ?uA Lo safeauard Lhe speclal poslLlon of
Lhe Malavs and naLlve of Sabah and Sarawak
And Lhe lealLlmaLe lnLeresLs of oLher
communlLles
W ?uA responslble Lo ensure Lhe reservaLlon for
8umlpuLera of such proporLlon as he mav deem
reasonable of
W 1 poslLlon ln Lhe federal publlc servlce
W 2 scholarshlps and oLher slmllar educaLlon or Lralnlna
prlvlleaes
W 3 permlLs or llcenses for Lhe operaLlon of anv Lrade or
buslness where requlred bv federal law
W Powever Lhese provlslon do noL allow unequal
LreaLmenL of federal emplovees of dlfferenL race
ersonal llberLles
W ArL 3 no person shall be deprlved of hls llfe or
personal llberLv save ln accordance wlLh law
W Amona Lhe rlahLs are
W a 1he rlahL Lo habeas corpus
W Where complalnL ls made Lo a Plah CourL of anv
!udae Lhereof LhaL a person ls belna unlawfullv
deLalned Lhe courL shall lnqulre lnLo Lhe complalnL
and unless saLlsfled LhaL Lhe deLenLlon ls lawful
shall order hlm Lo be produces before Lhe courL and
release hlm
W b 1he rlahL Lo be lnformed of Lhe Crounds of
arresL
W ArL 3(3) alves a rlahL Lo an arresLed person Lo be
'lnformed as soon as mav be of Lhe arounds of
hls arresL'
W 'as soon as mav be' depends on Lhe facLs of Lhe
case A delav of 37 davs beLween arresL and
lnformlna Lhe deLalnee of Lhe arounds ls clearlv
conLrarv Lo arL 3 (3) and also renders Lhe arresL
lnvalld
W C 1he rlahL Lo counsel
W ArL 3 (3) Lhe rlahL Lo be 'allowed Lo consulL and
be defended bv a leaal pracLlLloner of hls cholce'
W u 1he rlahL Lo producLlon before a
maalsLraLe
W ArL 3(4) conLalns Lhe rlahL of an arresLed
person wlLhouL unreasonable delav and ln
anv case wlLhln 24 hours of arresL Lo be
produced before a MaalsLraLe and noL Lo be
deLalned furLher wlLhouL Lhe MaalsLraLe's
auLhorlLv
W ln case of arresL of a nonclLlzen under
lmmlaraLlon laws Lhe perlod of Llme ls 14
davs raLher Lhan 24 hours
W L uouble !eopardv
W ueslaned Lo prevenL repeaLed Lrlals Lhe
accused has alreadv been convlcLed of Lhe
offence
W l freedom of movemenL
W a properLv rlahLs
Cl1lZLnSPl
W ClLlzenshlp ls a sLaLus held bv Lhe people who
have Lhe rlahL Lo be ln a counLrv
W 1hls sLaLus alve rlahLs beneflLs and cerLaln
faclllLles
1he rlahL Lo voLe
Lhe rlahL Lo Lake acLlve ln pollLlcs
Lhe rlahL Lo flll a posL LhaL excluslve for clLlzen onlv
lree Lo own landed properLv
eLc
W Poldlna Lhls sLaLus demands aL Lhe same Llme
cerLaln responslblllLles
Clve naLlonal servlce lncludlna Lhe armv lf requlred
Lo
Ablde Lhe laws and help run Lhe svsLems ln Lhe
counLrv
ConLrlbuLe Lo Lhe producLlvlLv of Lhe counLrv ln
whaLever fleld he underLakes
arLlclpaLe and as far as posslble supporL naLlonal
proarammes and evenLs
Wavs of acqulrlna clLlzenshlp
W 1 !us Soll
W 1hls ls based on Lhe laws of Lhe blrLh place
8eaardless Lhe sLaLus of Lhe moLher or faLher
clLlzenshlp sLaLus ls auLomaLlc for people born ln
Malavsla beLween lndependence dav and CcLober
1962 1hose born afLer 1962 can become clLlzens lf
Lhev fulfll one of Lhe condlLlons AL Lhe Llme of hls
blrLh
W a 1he moLher or faLher ls a clLlzen
W b moLher or faLher has been resldlna ln Lhe counLrv
W c Pe was noL a clLlzen of anv counLrv
W 8 f
W 1he facLor f relles solelv on Lhe
clLlzenshlp sLaLus of Lhe faLher
W lf Lhe faLher ls a clLlzen reaardless of wheLher he ls
born ouLslde Lhe counLrv
W Powever for Lhe chlld of a clLlzen who ls born
ouLslde Lhe counLrv Lhe chlld lnherlLs Lhe faLher's
clLlzenshlp sLaLus lf
Pls own faLher was born ln Malavsla or
Pls faLher holds a posL ln Lhe ubllc Servlce aL Lhe
lederal or SLaLe level or
Pls blrLh was realsLered aL Lhe offlce of Lhe
Malavslan ConsulaLe or wlLh Lhe Malavslan
aovernmenL wlLhln one vear afLer hls blrLh
W C Marrlaae
W 1he rlahL Lo a forelan woman who ls marrled Lo a
Malavslan clLlzen Lo applv Lo become a clLlzen
W ClLlzenshlp ls alven Lhrouah realsLraLlon
W 1he followlna condlLlon musL be fulfllled
lf Lhe husband ls a clLlzen ln CcLober 1962 or prlor Lo
LhaL and Lhe marrlaae ls sLlll blndlna or
1he forelan woman has llved ln Lhe lederaLlon for Lwo
vears before Lhe appllcaLlon ls made has Lhe lnLenLlon
Lo conLlnue llvlna ln Lhe lederaLlon and ls of aood
conducL
W u naLurallzaLlon
W 8esldenLs who are noL born ln Malavsla Lo become
Malavslan clLlzens AppllcanLs are requlred
Aaed 21 and above and
Pave llved ln Lhe lederaLlon for aL leasL 10 ouL of 12
vears from and up Lo Lhe daLe of appllcaLlon and
Pave lnLenLlon Lo llve permanenLlv ln Lhe counLrv and
of aood conducL and
Pave sufflclenL knowledae of Lhe Malav lanauaae
Loss of clLlzenshlp
W 1 Pe hlmself re[ecLs Lhe clLlzenshlp for personal reasons
(8enunclaLlon (ArL 23) )
W 2 Pe has vlolaLed Lhe laws and commlLLed a prohlblLlon acLlon
(ueprlvaLlon (arL 24)
W Can be one of Lhe followlna
he has become Lhe clLlzen of anoLher counLrv
Pe ls en[ovlna all Lhe rlahLs and faclllLles ln anoLher counLrv whereas Lhe
rlahLs are alven onlv Lo Lhe clLlzens of Lhose counLrles
A woman becomes Lhe clLlzen of a forelan counLrv Lhrouah marrlaae
AcLs neaaLlvelv showlna he ls no lonaer loval Lo Malavsla
Pas Lles wlLh a hosLlle counLrv
W Pas been senLenced ln a sLaLe wlLhln a perlod of 3
vears afLer becomlna a clLlzen of Lhe lederaLlon
wlLh a [all senLence of noL less Lhan 12 monLhs or
flned noL less Lhan 8M3000
W Clve servlces Lo anoLher counLrv wlLhouL
permlsslon
W Llves conLlnuouslv for 3 vears ln a forelan counLrv
unless he ls on servlce wlLh or on behalf of Lhe
Malavslan CovernmenL
W 1he clLlzenshlp has been falselv obLalned
W A forelan woman who acqulred her clLlzenshlp
sLaLus Lhrouah marrlaae ls dlvorced from Lhe
husband excepL ln Lhe case of dlvorce where Lhe
husband has passed awav