6.1   What is a Constitution?

Presentation

Constitution is a collection of basic principles and guidelines that determine how a country is established and governed as prescribed by laws, customs or rules which are generally accepted. It is the Constitution that determined how public decisions are made by the government. The Constitution also sets the distribution of power among government agencies as well as set the limits of the government authority and ways of choosing and electing a government.

The Constitution aims to provide assurance and protection to the people such as the special rights of the Malays and freedom of rights of its citizens. Other than that, the Constitution also serves as a guideline for the creation of laws either on the side of the government or the people.

The Federal Constitution of Malaysia is a written constitution where the Parliament derives power from the Constitution. It is collated and compiled into a document. The constitution is fixed and difficult to be emended unless a provision for amendments is stated in the constitution. The Parliament is given power to make laws on matters contained in the constitution but it can't regulate laws that contradict the freedom of rights. The only body that has power to interpret the constitution is the Judiciary. In short, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia is the highest source law in the country and its existence is to coordinate the governance of a country.