The Malaysian Constitution

Good afternoon, my name is Stephanie Jones and I am a currently a human rights lawyer. Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that everyone is entitled to purely for simply just being a human being. Today I would like to use this opportunity to discuss with you the greatly debated issue of an Australian Bill of Rights. Australia currently does not have a Bill of Rights, but is the current legal system coping without one? The answer to that question in my opinion is no. Australia currently is not adequately protecting individual human rights without having a Bill of Rights. While many people would argue that yes, Australia protects individual rights well enough as it is, just as many people passionately argue that Australia does indeed need a Bill of Rights for a variety of reasons which will be talked about in greater depth later on. In my talk with you today, I would like to discuss with you all what exactly a Bill of Rights is and what it aims to achieve, how a Bill of Rights has worked in other countries and some of the more popular arguments for and against having one.

Now I shall talk about how the Australian Constitution. It’s common knowledge to know that a constitution is pretty much the law of the land and a foundation of the laws that rule there. Constitutions are very important for countries to have. Helen Irving explains in The Oxford Companion of Australian Politics that, “Its Preamble records the agreement of the six Australian colonies to federate in 1901 and to remain together as ‘one indissoluble federal Commonwealth’.” The Australian Constitution was written as a bill when the colonies met in 1890. The constitution has a full draft by the end of 1891 but colonial parliaments failed to pass it (Irving).

In any given constitution a nation, the recording of bills of rights has been a gradual process. All the aspects of life in society were done with respect to the law. The society requires being guided by certain principles and guidelines that would define and evaluate each and every aspect of their lives. To ensure that the entire society remained focused and concentrated in the given policies and guidelines, they recorded in the constitution and made available to each and every member of the society for the purpose of doing reviews. The action of the people would be judged in accordance with the constitution. With society running several errands towards the realization of development, many fields had to be covered. Criteria for the operation of the people would require significant efforts to accomplish the set objectives. Violations in the society occur either due to misunderstanding or lack of awareness of the rights present in the constitution. Any form of violation is evaluated by the appropriate form of punishment offered. (Hand, 1965)

The constitution: the basic principle that people of state of nations should follow the rules and regulation and are given their rights.

The Canadian Constitution, BNA act, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Canadian Health care act are the backbone of Canada’s political system. The constitution is based upon the structure and civil rights of every Canadian inhabitant. It is a written document which states the rules that can run the federal and provincial governments and determine the responsibilities and rights of the cannadian citizens. The constitution was created so if a person has to undergo legal problems they will be treated fairly and equally.

Constitutional Recognition is about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to be recognised in the Australian Constitution. As the first people in our nation, they should be recognised and treated as equals. The Constitution is the founding legal document of our nation. It sets out the rules of Parliament and how lawmakers, government and courts operate. The Constitution was approved at Referendum by the people in the Australian Colonies between 1898 and 1900 and came into effect on the 1st of January 1901.

Many Canadians of the 21st century still often wonder, was the creation of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms a mistake? It is believed that the Charter 's creation was a significant benefit as it guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of everyone in Canada from the policies and actions of all areas and levels of government. However, many believe the Charter makes Canada more like the United States, especially by serving corporate rights and individual rights rather than group rights and social rights. Also, there are several rights that should be included in the Charter, such as a right to health care and a basic right to free education. With this, by guaranteeing certain political rights and civil rights to every Canadian citizen, it is evident that the creation of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms was not a mistake, and was truly a benefit to all Canadian citizens for many important reasons. One important reason is that Charter guarantees all Canadians their legal rights as it promises rights of people in dealing with the justice system and law enforcement are protected. In addition with the guarantee of Canadians legal rights, is their language rights which is to assure people have the right to use either the English or French language in communications with Canada 's federal government and certain provincial governments. As well as guaranteeing all Canadian 's equality rights to promise equal treatment before and under the law. The

The phenomenon of entrenching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not new to Canadian citizens, but it is a notion that is perceived in several ways. Many view it as a feature that disregards the fundamental right to democracy, an integral part of Canada’s political system. A functioning democracy is an important factor in providing citizens with the utmost rights and freedoms deserved. Society’s full potential is not being achieved if there are individuals who believe their principle of democracy is being violated. This violation nonetheless, true or not, should not be ignored.

conditions. Except general protection as a citizen they do not have any specific legal protection for the enforcement of their rights relating to domestic work.

Parliamentary sovereignty, a core principle of the UK's constitution, essentially states that the Parliament is the ultimate legal authority, which possesses the power to create, modify or end any law. The judiciary cannot question its legislative competence, and a Parliament is not bound by former legislative provisions of earlier Parliaments. The ‘rule of law’ on the other hand, is a constitutional doctrine which primarily governs the operation of the legal system and the manner in which the powers of the state are exercised. However, since the Parliament is capable of making any law whatsoever, the concept of the rule of law poses a contradiction to the principle of parliamentary supremacy, entailing that Parliament is not bound by the

There are numerous ways to improve the Malaysian electoral system both in fairness and efficiency. Currently, there is a lack in confidence in the validity or neutrality of the Electoral Commissions (EC). Members of the EC are elected by the Yang di- Pertuan Agong (YDPA) after discussing with the Conference of Rulers (Legal Research Board, 2013). However, according to Article 40 the YDPA can only act after receiving advice from the Cabinet or a Minister representing the Cabinet (Legal Research Board, 2013); in most cases it would mean the Prime Minister. Hence, it may seem that the politically neutral EC were to be pro-government. A solution to this problem would be to amend the Constitution so that the House of Representatives can debate on the nomination of the EC members, then their decision would be passed on to the YDPA. By doing so, the EC would comprise of members that have the approval of both the government and opposition, thus making the committee fairer. Aside from that, the EC should manage its own budget, and should be reviewed by the Auditor-General and not be dissected by the Parliament.

In Article 44, the legislative authority of the Federation shall be vested in a Parliament, which shall consist of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and two Majlis (Houses of Parliament) to be known as the Dewan Negara (Senate) and the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives).

Malay is the largest ethnic group in Malaysia and Malay language is their mother tongue. Malay language is Malaysia’s official language.

Constitution is the basic principles and laws of a nation, state or social groups that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the citizen (Merriam-Webster online dictionary, n.d). In other words, it is a set of guidelines for a government to exercise the given power.

Malaysia is a unique country. It is made up of multi-ethnic group who are living in harmony. Conflict among ethnic group is rare and even if conflict occurs, is not to the extent of destroying the country. In fact, it is the diversity that drives the development of the country and makes this country colourful. Malaysia has been recognized by the world as a model for other plural societies. The concept of ‘unity in diversity’ is always insisted by the leaders. The concept is now supported with the ‘1 Malaysia’ concept which is introduced by the current Prime Minister. The Malaysian government is always put efforts to ensure the