DOCUMENT OF DESTINY

DOCUMENT OF DESTINY : The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia by PROFESSOR DR SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

Professor Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi -
Senior Professor of Law & Constitutional Expert, University Technology MARA, Malaysia.

He simply said that his book is important because the Constitution is under attack during the launch of his abovementioned book – a historical an legal analysis of the Malaysian Constitution published by The Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd recently.

“The Constitution is under attack by a number of people who believe that we should move towards the Islamic state. It is under attack by those who feel that the ‘social contract’ must be renegotiated. It is also undermined by judges and civil servants who apply their own interpretations of the Constitution and allow their personal allegiances to colour the practical application of the laws that govern our country” he said vehemently.

The Constitution performs a number of functions. It creates the branches of government (legislative, executive and judiciary) and confers powers upon these branches. Importantly, it also imposes limits on these powers and describes the relationship between the various arms of government, the King, and the Prime Minister, the Federal and State Governments, the Upper and Lower Houses, an so on. The Constitution also delineates a state’s relationship with its citizens, setting out their rights to life, liberty, property ownership, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Despite his obvious passion for these legal documents, he admitted that a Constitution is by nature imperfect. A Constitution is sure to be full of ambiguities and conflicts. It seeks to strike a balance between might and right, to permit liberty, while at the same time enforcing responsibility.

Shad believed that the Constitutional literacy is an absolutely essential tool if Malaysians are to develop a keen political and civil consciousness. The Constitution is the chart and compass; knowledge of the Constitution is a pre-requisite to good citizenship. The Constitution is the guardian of rights and the source of freedoms. Yet it is not even taught in universities except to those studying law. Members of Parliament and senior civil servants can be blissfully unaware of the provisions of the Constitution. The youth are terribly ignorant of the painstaking process under which it was forged by leaders who had to battle extremism from within and without their respective communities. The Malaysian Constitution was not framed by ideological passion, but guided by the spirit of moderation. It has reconciled the seemingly irreconcilable conflict of interest between ethnic and religious groups in a way that has few parallels in the modern world.

Bar Council Human Rights Committee Chairman, Mr Edmund Bon has this to say – “I applaud Shad because he is one of the few scholars who will speak freely about religious freedom in this country. He is also very active in promoting constitutional awareness. His column is an excellent forum to expose Constitutional and human rights issues, and its useful to the ay person because it is written in a way that is easy to understand without distracting from the importance of the issue at hand”.

University Putra Malaysia’s Professor of Social Anthropology, Professor Dr Sarjit S Gill – “I think he’s doing a very good job. Shad is known as a man of principle, who is critical with his work and who is not afraid to be critical of the Government in defence of the Constitution. That is something that is lacking in Malaysia, the ability to have healthy debate on important issues and take the opposite view if need be – we have many ‘yes man’ professors in Malaysia. The younger generation should take the cue from Shad, whose work is known internationally not just in Malaysia”.

The book DOCUMENT OF DESTINY : The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia is now on sale. A book everyone must read and take to heart. Other books by the author includes “Human Rights, Globalisation and the Asian Economic Crisis”, “Islam International Law and the War Against Terrorism”, “Islam, Democracy and Development”, co-author “Media Law and Regulations in Malaysia”.