Look at Constitution in totality, says analyst

2008/06/15

Look at Constitution in totality, says analyst

By : Arman Ahmad
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Constitution is one of the best in the world, yet its contents have been poorly implemented and interpreted.
Political analyst Dr Chandra Muzaffar said yesterday that many people took different parts of the Constitution partly to justify their own interests.

"It's like the story of the six blind men and the elephant. One man holds the tail and declares this is what the elephant is. Another holds the trunk, saying this is what the elephant actually is."

He said this was true for all races and communities.

Chandra was giving a talk entitled "Merdeka Constitution: Then, Now and the Future" at Wisma WIM in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
He said people tended to interpret the Constitution to further their own goals.

"In the case of the non-Malays, a lot of them don't want to acknowledge that the Malays have a history in this country," he said.

"But the very fact that there has been a Malay Sultanate since 1,000 years ago shows that the Malays have a long history in this country. You can't run away from history."

He added that Islam as the federal religion had also been questioned.

"The non-Malays also don't appreciate that Islam has also been the religion of the Sultans and principalities.

"It has existed here for a long time. It has shaped the politics and administration of this country for hundreds of years.

"What was the basis of law before British rule? It was Islam and syariah. That is a historical fact."

Chandra said on the other hand, provisions like the Malay special rights as outlined under Article 153 of the Constitution could be misused by some Malays.

"The Malays are happy with the provisions, but they don't realise that there is also a promise of equality (in the Constitution). A lot of Malays feel that the notion of equality is a threat to their interests.

"If you have done well, then why should you need special privileges. Those who need them are the disadvantaged."

Chandra said the Malaysian Constitution, which was modelled after the Indian Constitution was good because it had provisions for affirmative action for those who trailed behind.

"Our Constitution is good. It is one of the better ones in the world because it is balanced. Our failure is to live by these goals, principles and ideas."

He cited one principle which was enshrined in the Rukun Negara - which states that a Malaysian should have morality and good behaviour.

"This, of course, applies to those in power even more. Yet, we have corruption."

He added that while the founding fathers had wanted to create a just society - in which wealth was equally distributed - today, the disparity between the rich and poor has become even wider.

"There is also quite a lot of authoritarianism in this country as well. This includes the Sedition Act, laws relating to publishing and the Internal Security Act which curb individual freedom."

Chandra said there was a need to interpret the spirit of the Constitution as well as other founding documents of the nation in their entirety.

"The government needs to explain the Constitution, the Rukun Negara, the goals of the Rukun Negara as well as Vision 2020 to the people clearly."