JANUARY 28 — There are ‘basic features’ of the Constitution, said Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat at her last Opening of the Legal Year (OLY) 2025.
The speech has since been much commented about, not just by the legal fraternity but by the public as well.
Tengku Maimun reminded that the basic features of the Constitution “cannot be altered or taken away even by way of a constitutional amendment. And, that even if such a constitutional amendment was made, it can be struck down under Article 4(1)”.
She went to say this:
“The Constitution is not just a mere collection of words. It is a blueprint as much as it is a living reminder of our history. Due to the nature of its founding, including the fact that the Constitution renders Parliament subordinate to it, the Constitution is greater than the sum of its words.
“Upon an examination of the historical documents and the circumstances of the formation of Malaya and later Malaysia, it is surmised that some fundamental features of the Constitution include Islam as the religion of the Federation; the supremacy of the Constitution; the national language of the Federation; the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak; a democratic constitutional monarchy with three branches of Government being the Executive, the Legislatures (Federal and State) and an entirely independent Judiciary; and the written guarantee of fundamental rights as well as their protection. These categories are not closed.
“To whittle away any of these features would be to destroy the essence of the Constitution itself. It does not mean Parliament cannot amend the Constitution. The procedure for this is clear. What it does mean is that Parliament, being subordinate to the Constitution, cannot (even with the requisite majorities and consents) directly or indirectly eradicate these features at the risk of destroying the Constitution and Malaysia itself. It means that Parliament cannot, at any time, use the constitutional procedure for amendment by, for example, eliminating the special position of the Malays, abolish the monarchy, or even for that matter, remove Islam as the religion of the Federation. The existence of this doctrine of constitutional supremacy that upholds not just the words and explicit provisions of the Constitution but protects its spirit, implied principles and design, is an indelible principle of our Rule of Law.” (Emphases added)
Somehow, the above part of the Chief Justice’s speech has escaped media attention.
Read the reports of her speech here, here and here.
Even the nine past presidents of the Malaysian Bar somehow missed the highlighted part of the Chief Justice’s speech above in their letter reminding Malaysians that constitutionalism and the independence of the judiciary were “centre stage” in the speech.
If the Chief Justice’s speech is a timely reminder, then it is time to put to rest the persistent narrative that Islam and the Malays are increasingly under threat.
How are Islam and the Malays under threat when even Parliament, at any time, cannot amend the Constitution to eliminate the special position of the Malays, abolish the monarchy, or remove Islam as the religion of the Federation.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
