JUNE 12 — Johor Mentri Besar Mohd Khaled Nordin announced amendments to the Johor Housing and Real Property Board Bill 2014, withdrawing the executive powers granted to the Sultan, which is a move in the right direction while safeguarding the principles of the Federal Constitution.

Under the country’s constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy system, the executive powers are held in the hands of the government, something that has been explicitly stated in the Federal Constitution. Apathy to this principle will be detrimental to our constitutional spirit and may even upset the country’s democratic system.

What we really cannot understand is why the mentri besar kept defending the bill over the past two days, arguing that the bill had been overly politicised.

The bill has originally intended to give the state ruler the power to appoint and dismiss board members while deciding the allowances and remunerations of board members, even the liquidation and dissolution of the state housing board. In addition, the board of directors must also submit the annual budget, audit reports and annual reports to the Sultan as well as the state authorities.

These are all executive powers, but then why did the mentri besar perceive this in a way very different from the other people? The mentri besar is supposed to be the supreme leader of the state executive institution, and he will need to have a very clear concept of this in order to firmly preserve and safeguard the national as well as state constitutions.

This is a matter of principle and there is no compromise for this. Unfortunately, many politicians have opted to ignore this governing principle in recent years, resulting in deficiencies in our administrative system.

The Federal Constitution is the most supreme law of this nation, the result of the wisdom of the nation’s founding fathers, which must be upheld at all times.

The Johor Housing and Real Property Board Bill should serve as a stern warning to all that we must stand firmly on our principles. If everyone keeps quiet on this matter, the country and her people will be the ones to suffer if our constitutional spirit is eventually eroded.

The constitutional monarchy should be treated with such principles being prioritised. The same goes for proselytization, hudud law and other issues related to the Constitution.

Even though the Federal Constitution has already assured religious freedom for all, religious controversies and legal disputes remain rife as seen in several moves to amend the Constitution in the past.

According to the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights in Malaysia (PROHAM), the 2011 statistics showed that there were around 700 constitutional amendments from 1957 to 2010, as compared to only 27 amendments throughout the 223 years of nationhood of the United States and only five in Singapore’s 45 years of nation-building.

The Constitution has granted the citizens the right to assembly and speech freedom, but with the enactment of the Police Act 1967, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, obviously the constitutional spirit has not been accorded its due respect.

The Section 107 (b) of the Administration of Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 provides that the consent of one parent alone is sufficient for the conversion of minor children to Islam, which is also unconstitutional. Fortunately the bill was later withdrawn by the government.

For the sake of our children, we must defend the Federal Constitution in full force, and this includes uncompromising objection to the unconstitutional hudud law.

The Constitution forms the basis of the country’s harmonious coexistence. Disrespect for the Constitution will not only create confusion in the society, but will also bring on regression for the country.

*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.