M'sians need to brush up on their constitutional rights

Malaysians generally lack knowledge, particularly over their fundamental rights as citizens, and should brush up on these as well as other principles that have been laid out in the federal constitution, PAS legal advisor Hanipa Maidin said.

“Take for example if you arrested, what can you do, who can you turn to? Although it may look increasingly like one, Malaysia is still not a police state yet. People who live in this country still have fundamental rights,” Hanipa told Harakahdaily in an interview.

Indeed, it was with the view of educating the citizenry on the significance of the law enshrined in the constitution that the Bar Council launched the 'My Constitution Campaign' on November 13 last year.

Even though the initial impetus came from the outpouring of public interest in the controversial court rulings over the Perak state leadership, workshops and seminars also address other parts of the constitution, especially relating to fundamental liberties.

“Individual rights may not be large sweeping laws such as the complex constitutional laws that we have been reading about in the Perak crisis, but these are very important 'small' matters that affect day-to-day life," Hanipa said.

"For example, you may not be part of a protest group but they are standing nearby. And when the police swoop on them, you are arrested as well. What can you do? What rights do you have?”

Federalism and the rights of states on March 1

Next week, on March 1, Hanipa and his colleagues from the legal fraternity will hold another seminar in Kuala Lumpur – part of a nationwide series that kicked off in Perak earlier this month.

The Bar Council had last year formed a constitutional law committee to entrench constitutional study and to promote constitutionalism as part of its initiatives to create awareness in society.

“The more you understand and know your rights, the more empowered you are as a citizen. In turn, we hope this effort will snowball us into a matured and democracy-loving society,” Hanipa said.

"It doesn't take a lot of your time and pocket-sized guidebooks are available. Get one and keep track. Be an interested citizen that no one can simply bully."

He will be speaking on federalism and the rights of the states – an issue that is particularly relevant now given the raging debate over oil royalty payments owed to Kelantan and Terengganu.

The My Consitution campaign is broken down into key themes that collectively cover the full federal constitution. These are:

- the role and function of the Federal Constitution as the “rule-book” or a framework of our nation;

- the role, function and powers of our constitutional institutions such as the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the monarchy and the public service;

- the relationship between the Federal Government and State Governments;

- the rights and fundamental liberties of the rakyat; and

- the process of Federal and State elections as part of a functioning democracy.