Not jinxed after all!

By Grace Wong

Friday 13th has always been branded as an unlucky day. Some often associate mishaps and unlucky happenings to Friday 13th. As scary as it may sound to some, the Malaysian Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee nevertheless scheduled their launch of the PerlembagaanKu / MyConstitution campaign on Friday, 13th November 2009. Perhaps to many fellow Malaysians, it was just another day at work, at school or at home, but to a bunch of “kids” who had slogged day and night, ensuring detailed perfection and the smooth-running of the Launch, Friday, 13th November 2009 was a meaningful and memorable day indeed. It was the culmination of their shared hopes of launching the PerlembagaanKu / MyConstitution campaign, first of its kind, which aims to raise awareness on the Constitution amongst members of the public.

Prior to the Launch, there were concerns with regard to resources, reaching out to as many as we can, the endless list of tasks to be completed within a short period of time, bringing a pool of diverse ideas together…and the list goes on. Amidst all these, the major concern was whether the hall will be packed on the Launch date and whether the campaign would garner the kind of support we hoped to obtain.

At 3pm sharp, participants started to fill the hall and within minutes, the back portion of the Bar Council Auditorium was filled. Members of the media were seen busy setting up their gadgets whilst ushers constantly pace back and forth the auditorium in an effort to show participants and guests to their seats.

By 3.30pm the hall was packed full with guests and participants from all walks of life, consisting of students, lawyers, a former judge, politicians, lecturers, bloggers, parents (some even brought along their little children) and other members of the general public, all attending the Launch full of enthusiasm and with one common aim in mind - to show their support for a cause they all believed in. Finally, looks of relief were seen on Committee members’ faces when the hall was packed to the brim.

Chairman of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee, Edmund Bon started the ball rolling by delivering his opening speech. He introduced this campaign as “Your Campaign – after all, it is about you.” He stressed that it is a campaign by the people and for the people. “After all things said and done, the only person who is supposed to look after yourself - is you.” The aim of the PerlembagaanKu / MyConstitution campaign is to deliver key messages on the Constitution in simple language understandable by the man on the street.

The President of the Bar Council echoed Bon’s speech and further highlighted that “we don’t force you to take positions, what we intend to achieve is to get the people to look at it (Federal/State Constitution), understand it and interpret it yourself.” He also acknowledged that every time the Bar Council organised an event, there were bound to be objections, backlash and concerns – but not this time, as the campaign has not had any negative coverage. Surely then, we are doing something right!

The Campaign was then officially launched by Datuk VK Liew, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department, and a special framed copy of the Rakyat Guides Booklet (1) was handed over to him. This was followed by the screening of our first Rakyat Service Advertisement, a one minute video clip, which the crowd seemed to enjoy very much. (The video is now available for viewing at www.perlembagaanku.com or at the Campaign’s YouTube page)

From Left to Right: Ragunath, Datuk VK Liew and Edmund Bon Tai Soon

The official launch was then followed by a forum; “Bual-bual Perlembagaan” or simply, a conversation on what is the Federal Constitution. This forum was mediated by Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan and panelled by Professor Abdul Aziz Bari, Tuan Haji Sulaiman, Azmi Sharom, Professor Shad Faruqi and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.

Panelists agreed that what this campaign seeks to do is indeed an effort to “merakyatkan Perlembagaan”. For many years, the Federal Constitution had been seen as only a legal document, drafted for the lawyers or those educated in law – but it is not! Professor Abdul Aziz stressed that it provides a form of national identity. When asked why the Constitution is special to him, his answer was that the Constitution manifests, shows or portrays the beginning of a country and the will of the people.

Professor Abdul Aziz bari	Professor Shad

Professor Shad on the other hand summed up what the Constitution meant to him in three words; it is a Document of Destiny. It is, according to the Professor, a document for the future, in which we are realising the dreams that our fore fathers had. Professor Shad said that when asked by an American friend why Malaysians don’t kill each other, he simply responded that we have in some respects, tremendous achievements to our credit where we don’t have civil wars, cessationist movements and we have managed to keep the army and the police in the barracks and that is no small achievement! We have built a mosaic and not a melting pot. Although in many respects, there are attacks within communities, we are still like the colours of the rainbow, separate but not apart.

However, despite all the positives, not all is well. The Constitution has not become the chart and compass or the sail and anchor of the nation’s endeavours. Its imperatives have not become the aspirations of the people. Parliament has failed to check the Executive. Parliament is supposed to be the grand inquest of the people. Professor Shad added that Parliament today legitimises (the acts of the Executive) and not legislates. The Judiciary too has failed us as guardians of the Constitution. Even the Attorney General and the police have failed to enforce the law righteously, without fear or favour. Therefore the social contract (i.e. the Constitution) is placed under great strain. Constitutional literacy is very important, especially now. We must then work hand in hand to ensure that the Constitution is placed on the same pedestal as it had been during the formation of the country. Professor Shad stressed that we must walk the path of the Constitution with moderation and passion. “We must be determined to make it stronger.”

Tuan Haji Sulaiman Abdullah

Tuan Haji Sulaiman took a different approach where he talked about memories from his childhood days where the municipal elections were held for the very first time in Penang. He thought of it as a war between totalitarianism and democracy. “So to fight it (totalitarianism), we must promote democracy and not suppress it.

When Haji was asked to explain the constitutional system in Malaysia and this was in the “days of the long running prime minister”, Haji’s reply was simply: Malaysia’s constitutional system was just the same as England’s, except in England, they change their Prime Minister every 5 years and the Monarch rule for life, whereas in Malaysia, we change the Monarch every 5 years and the PM rules for life. This attracted a lot of laughter from the crowd.

On a serious note, Haji highlighted the value of Parliament in a democratic system, he said that Parliament is an arena for people to bring out the defects of administration without any fear of adverse repercussions. The Judiciary likewise ought to decide cases according to the law, and if that meant that a Minister was shown to have committed something wrong, so be it! Haji further quoted the case of Adegbenro v Akintola where the written constitution had failed in Nigeria and it was replaced with men in guns for several years. Haji explains that the Constitution is the document that guarantees our basic rights. However, we the people need to safeguard it and give meaning and life to it.

Azmi Sharom

Azmi Sharom said he had initially thought of our Federal Constitution as something simple to understand because it came in a nice little book, compared to the unwritten constitution of the United Kingdom. He went on to say that, “I didn’t realise I was treating the Constitution like it was a book on Governance for Dummies, as the politicians do!” It was when he started teaching Constitutional Law in universities that he realised our Constitution is more than that. The Constitution according to Azmi shaped the country we’re living in and gives and limits the power of the government. The Constitution must be examined not just by its words, but by its meaning and intent as well.

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

The last of the panelist was Malik Imtiaz and he answered the question of what is the Federal Constitution by speaking of a 3-dimensional approach. First and foremost, the Federal Constitution in essence gave him the right to be left alone. In other words, he has the right to do whatever he wants as long as it does not infringe the rights of his neighbours. The second dimension is Universalism which underpins society. Ultimately, Malik Imtiaz said that despite all its imperfections, as long as the Constitution stands, there is at least some opportunity for us to get things right. There must be hope. Malik Imtiaz told the crowd that Raja Aziz once told him that we need to keep knocking on the door, and hopefully one day a light shine through. To Malik Imtiaz, the answer to the question “What is the Federal Constitution?” is very simple: it should be the way you want it to be.


In drawing the forum to an end, Dato’ Ambiga urged the crowd to change the culture of accepting answers given to them. She said that the Malaysian public must start questioning what we feel is wrong.

The Launch was brought to an end at approximately 7pm and the members of the Constitutional Law Committee could not be happier as the participants left the hall feeling satisfied, encouraged and motivated to help spread the word. This is merely the beginning; to make the campaign a success, every single individual must make a difference! In the words of Cassie Bow, a 12 year old, “it is not about what you can or can’t do – its about what you will and won’t do.” So I urge one and all to help make this campaign a success, after all the Rakyat are the beneficiaries.

Part of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee Members

Last but not least, we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who played a part in one way or another to help make this Launch a success. This goes out to all committee members, distinguished guests, participants and also not forgetting those who have shown great support by supporting our Facebook fan page and following our Twitter live feeds. Please continue to lend us your invaluable support and we certainly look forward to seeing you at our next event. We’ll keep you informed!


The campaign is now also available online through the following channels:
www.perlembagaanku.com
www.facebook.com/MyConstitution
www.twitter.com/MyConsti
www.youtube.com/user/PerlembagaanKu

Copies of the “The Rakyat Guides: 1. What is the Federal Constitution?” is available from the Bar Council Secretariat in both English and Bahasa Melayu. Please contact Ms. Lim Ka Ea at 03-2031 3003 (extension 127) for further inquiries.