Hakam is concerned by Pas president Hadi Awang’s recent remarks calling for the abolition of laws described as “colonial” in order to justify making Sharia supreme in Malaysia.
Hakam is particularly concerned by the use of an easy and politically convenient ‘colonial law’ argument to represent to the public that Malaysia’s existing constitutional and legal framework is an inherited foreign imposition standing in the way of Islam.
The invocation of ‘colonial law’ overlooks the constitutional history of independent Malaya.
The Reid Commission was established in 1956 to make recommendations to draft a constitution for an independent and self-governing Federation of Malaya, following consultation with political parties, representatives of the various communities and the Malay rulers.
Its recommendations formed an important basis for the constitutional arrangements negotiated and ultimately adopted at independence.
The Federal Constitution was therefore not simply a colonial document imposed upon Malaya, but the product of extensive consultation and negotiation involving the political leadership, the communities and the Malay rulers.
Malaysia is a constitutional democracy. Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution establishes the Constitution as the supreme law of the Federation. The respective powers of Parliament, the state legislatures, the civil courts and the Sharia courts are defined by that constitutional framework, including under Article 74 and the Ninth Schedule.
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Islam has a constitutionally recognised position under Article 3(1).
However, Article 3 does not stand above the Constitution as a whole. Article 3(4) expressly provides that nothing in Article 3 derogates from any other provision of the Constitution.
It is therefore misleading to suggest that the constitutional limits on Sharia jurisdiction are simply ‘colonial’ restrictions which must be removed. The appropriate question is not whether a law has historical colonial origins, but whether it is valid within Malaysia’s constitutional order today.
Laws can, of course, be reformed or repealed; however, such changes must be debated on their legal and constitutional merits, rather than justified through a convenient narrative which reduces complex constitutional arrangements to merely a struggle between ‘colonial law’ and Sharia law.
Hakam is concerned that such rhetoric risks misleading the public and portrays constitutional safeguards and fundamental liberties as obstacles to be overcome in pursuit of a particular political or religious objective.
More troublingly, framing the Constitution and existing laws as remnants of a colonial order risks inflaming public sentiment and deepening unnecessary divisions along religious and community lines.
Public discourse on these matters must be grounded in constitutional principle, legal accuracy and respect for the rights and liberties of all Malaysians.
Political leaders have a deep and serious responsibility to ensure that public discourse on matters as fundamental as religion, law and constitutional rights does not become a vehicle for fear, resentment or distrust between communities. – Hakam
Dato’ Sri M Ramachelvam is the president of the National Human Rights Society (Hakam).
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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