var YAHOO = {‘Shortcuts’ : {}}; YAHOO.Shortcuts.hasSensitiveText = false; YAHOO.Shortcuts.sensitivityType = []; YAHOO.Shortcuts.doUlt = false; YAHOO.Shortcuts.location = “us”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_id = 0; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_type = “”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_title = “CURRENT MEDIA from Star Online: Book on the Constitution”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_publish_date = “”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_author = “chongyl2000@yahoo.com”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_url = “”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_tags = “”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.document_language = “english”; YAHOO.Shortcuts.annotationSet = { “lw_1214624534_0”: { “text”: “http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp”, “extended”: 0, “startchar”: 137, “endchar”: 176, “start”: 137, “end”: 176, “extendedFrom”: “”, “predictedCategory”: “”, “predictionProbability”: “0”, “weight”: 1, “type”: [“shortcuts:/us/instance/identifier/hyperlink/http”], “category”: [“IDENTIFIER”], “context”: “Constitution born of unique history, says Chief Justice http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp By The Star Friday June 27, 2008 PUTRAJAYA: The Federal”, “metaData”: { “linkHref”: “http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp”, “linkProtocol”: “http”, “linkTarget”: “_blank”, “visible”: “true” } }, “lw_1214624534_1”: { “text”: “Malaysia today”, “extended”: 1, “startchar”: 1700, “endchar”: 1713, “start”: 1706, “end”: 1719, “extendedFrom”: “Malaysia”, “predictedCategory”: “”, “predictionProbability”: “0”, “weight”: 3, “type”: [“shortcuts:/concept”], “category”: [“CONCEPT”], “context”: “United States were still the majority it would be like Malaysia today. He said amending the Constitution was a matter of policy”, “metaData”: { “visible”: “true” } }, “lw_1214624534_2”: { “text”: “amending the Constitution”, “extended”: 0, “startchar”: 1731, “endchar”: 1755, “start”: 1737, “end”: 1761, “extendedFrom”: “”, “predictedCategory”: “”, “predictionProbability”: “0”, “weight”: 0.841587, “type”: [“shortcuts:/concept”], “category”: [“CONCEPT”], “context”: “the majority it would be like Malaysia today. He said amending the Constitution was a matter of policy and Parliament was free to”, “metaData”: { “visible”: “true” } } }; PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Constitution of Malaysia cannot be compared with the constitutions of other countries as it had a different and unique history before its enactment, said Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad.
He advised Malaysians not to blindly follow what judges in other countries said because in Malaysia, local circumstances, public policy and public morality had to be taken into account.
New book: Abdul Hamid (left) launching the book at Putrajaya Thursday while Prof Shad and Star Publications Group Editorial / Education Adviser Datuk Ng Poh Tip look on.
He said outsiders and the younger generation of Malaysians who did not experience the struggle before independence should not question the fairness of provisions in the Constitution.
“They only read the cold print with theories and precedents from courts in other countries at the back of their minds and start questioning the fairness of those provisions.
“They compare the Malaysian Constitution with the constitutions of other countries that do not have such provisions and which declare equality for all and do not contain discretionary provisions,??? he said.
He added that these groups also failed to realise that in such countries the settlers, being superior in arms, had wiped out the natives and declared themselves equal.
Abdul Hamid said that if the native Indians in the United States were still the majority it would be like Malaysia today.
He said amending the Constitution was a matter of policy and Parliament was free to amend it so long as procedures were followed.
Abdul Hamid said this before launching Prof Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi’s book Document of Destiny: The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia yesterday.
Priced at RM68, the 800-page book published by Star Publications (M) Berhad has 47 chapters covering all aspects of the Malaysian Constitution and can be found in major bookstores in the country.
Prof Shad, a constitutional expert, is also an academician who writes the column Reflecting on the Law for The Star.
In his speech Prof Shad said the Constitution was not just a lawyer’s document but also the vehicle of a community’s legal, political and social life and that it seeks to reconcile the irreconcilable conflict between the might of the state and the rights of the citizens.
He said the Constitution had to be interpreted to keep pace with the march of times, to stay sensitive to the rise and fall of ideas and to remain abreast of the tides that continue to “wash at our shores???.