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Essay On Constitutionalism In Malaysia

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The constitution of Malaysia was drafted based on the reference made by the Reid Commission and the reference was submitted in a constitutional conference which was held in London in February 1956. Along with other nation’s constitutions, the Federal Constitution was to be in the ambit of the constitutional ideas. The Federal Constitution was accepted and declared as the highest law of the land. Similarly, the Federal Constitution is premised on the concept of the constitution being a "higher law", from which all other laws gain their validity, or against which all other laws are measured. This would be the first limb in the notion of constitutionalism, that there be a constitution which will form the yardstick and source for all other law within a jurisdiction. The effect of this is, as reflected in Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution, that law inconsistent with the constitution will be declared void In the case of Phang Chin Hock v …show more content…

There are many forms to the rule of law. The rule of law would refer to the outline or objective, logical, neutral rules which demand respect in a legal system. These rules are considered to be based on certain values and concepts to which the citizens of a land are bound. This implies that the government should operate within a framework of rational values and beliefs constrained by law which are publicly announced, clear and accessible and policed by independent courts. Another basis for the rule of law lies in John Locke analysis. In this analysis, there was not the pessimism of Thomas Hobbes, in that Locke did not believe that there would be a necessary destruction of humankind whilst humankind was in a state of nature. However, he acknowledged that the possibility existed that this could occur, and thus he proposed a social contract theory, but a two-fold one: one concerning a contract amongst members of that society, and the other, between these members and

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