What are Christians to make of this? As citizens of a nation, we have certain mutual agreement with every part of society, be it fellow civilians, or the government. For every Malaysian, the Federal Constitution is the starting point in understanding our place as citizens within this nation. But for Christians it goes beyond that.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We are called by God to be a positive force in our nation, and in order for this, it is important that we understand the local context in terms of our nation. A part of such a context exists within a social contract and a shared history. We need to be aware of the communities and interests that make up Malaysia as a whole, and as Christians, we need to be in touch with these realities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is also one of the keys towards understanding ourselves and our neighbours. Consequent to this, an objective and careful study of the Constitution through the eyes of legal experts is necessary to understand the context we are in for us to relate better with others.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The understanding of the Federal Constitution is fundamental in engaging society because it is a starting point for us as citizens, and a common document that we share with our neighbors. It is the most important document in a nation that unites us all together. If we are determined to love our neighbors, we need to know this common platform we share and also to learn to listen. This is essential to our being salt and light in this land.<\/span><\/p>\n Recently, in early November, the Citizens Network for a Better Malaysia (CNBM)<\/strong> hosted and organized a session on our Federal Constitution, guided by constitutional law expert\u00a0Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi<\/strong>. Dr Faruqi is a Senior Professor of Law and Legal Advisor at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. It is the hope of CNBM that Christians in this nation would work together to build bridges, together as a nation, on aspirations that are shared by many parties.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As an expert on the Federal Constitution and constitutional law in general, Dr Faruqi has authored 9 books and contributed 435 articles to legal periodicals, anthologies and newspapers and has presented over 300 seminar papers in 15 countries. <\/span><\/p>\n He also served as a consultant to many countries, even helping to draft the constitution of the Republic of Maldives as part of an Asia Foundation Project in 1991. He holds distinguished membership and positions in numerous organizations and is a judge on the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Court.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Basic History of the Federal Constitution <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n One way for us to understand our characters as citizens is to understand our shared history. Dr Faruqi shared that constitutions are born to mark stages in progression towards self-government, to establish the foundations of a newly independent state, or to start afresh after a revolutionary or ideological upheaval.<\/span><\/p>\n In British Malaya, Datuk Onn\u2019s opposition to the Malayan Union proposal of 1946 galvanized Malay nationalism. The multi-racial alliance that was forged to struggle for independence earned a massive victory at the 1955 Election to the Federal Legislative Council<\/em>, and demands for the removal of the yoke of colonialism was made.<\/span><\/p>\n The birth of the Federal Constitution had to go through many complexities, and CNBM attendees were guided through many of the historical events such as the London Conference of 1956<\/em>, the Reid Commission<\/em>, and the appointment of the Tripartite Working Party<\/em>, right up to the ratification of the Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the very start, in the very formation of the Reid Commission to draft the Constitution, we could already see that the early leaders were determined that it was to be independent and free from bias and prejudice. The Reid Commission was a compromise that consisted of leaders and experts on Constitutional Law from other nationalities.<\/span><\/p>\n Half of the 20-page memorandum that was drawn up for the Reid Commission dealt with communal issues and with the need to cater to Malaya\u2019s dazzling diversity. On most issues the Reid Commission showed deference to the \u201csocial contract\u201d negotiated by the communities.<\/span><\/p>\n Between June and October 1956, the Commission held 118 public and private hearings and the first groundwork of the Constitution was drafted. It provided for, among other things, a supreme Constitution, an independent judiciary with powers of judicial review, a federal system of government with a heavy central bias, a Westminster style of parliamentary democracy, and a constitutional monarchy at both state and federal levels.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Among other things, it also provided a chapter on partially entrenched fundamental rights, provisions for Parliamentary power during times of emergency, special protection for the rights of Malay rulers, and a continuation of the historical provisions relating to Malay privileges, but with liberal rights of citizenship for all persons born in the Federation including linguistics, culture and religion.<\/span><\/p>\n There were consternation with some parts of the Reid Proposal, and a Tripartite Working Party was formed in response. Some \u201cMalay features\u201d of the Constitution were augmented but they were balanced by safeguards for other communities. Dr Faruqi shared that the spirit of the forefathers that animated the Constitution was one of tolerance, compassion, and compromise.<\/span><\/p>\n The master plan that was finally adopted bore the mark of idealism and realism, the old and the new, the indigenous and the imported. Among Constitutional ideas that were blended with Malayan traditions were those from the UK, India, Ceylon, Australia and the USA.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Tripartite Working Party Report had to underwent a lengthy and extraordinary process of ratification of the Merdeka Constitution by the Federal Legislative Council<\/em>, the Assemblies of the Malay States<\/em>, the United Kingdom Parliament and the British Crown, and though there was a stormy debate from the 9th<\/sup>-29th<\/sup> of July 1957, the leaders of the Alliance stood firm and united by their negotiated settlement.<\/span><\/p>\n At the stroke of midnight on August 31, 1957, at the Stadium Merdeka, the Duke of Gloucester, on behalf of the British Queen, handed over to the Tunku the constitutional documents signifying the independence of the Federation of Malaya.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Significance of National Constitutions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Why is it important that we know our Federal Constitution? Dr Faruqi communicated that Constitutional Law is linked with a nation\u2019s philosophy at one end and its politics at the other. It is silhouetted against the panorama of history, economics and culture. More than other fields of law, it reflects the dreams, demands, values, and vulnerabilities of the body-politic within a nation.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"8409858911_e31201a46b_b\"](\"http:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/8409858911_e31201a46b_b.jpg\")
![\"fedconstition\"](\"http:\/\/borneoaseanreports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/fedconstition.jpg\")
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