What do these two words mean? Are they interchangeable? Or are they different? If so, how?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers , Government , Politics
Which is supreme: the Constitution, the monarchy or some other power?
A Ruler's power to appoint a Chief Minister is all the rage. A blogger once wrote that the monarch could appoint his gardener as prime minister. Was he right? This minor question begets larger ones. For a start, (1) Is there a legal principle higher than the Constitution? (2) How should the Constitution be interpreted?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers , Government , Home Featured Articles , Politics
Can a judge dance?
Why not? Dancing is an expression of joy. A judge is human. Why should a judge be deprived of joy? Yet, whether a judge could dance publicly would depend on the occasion, wouldn’t it? Which side of the line did the CJ and the AG tread last week?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Politics
Will Malaysia’s ratification of ICERD injure Malay Rights?
What is the 'International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination' (‘ICERD’)? Does it prejudice Malay Rights entrenched in Article 153 of our Constitution? What should Malaysia do? Ratify it, or denounce it? How have other Muslim countries dealt with it? Read on.
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers , Government , Politics
Is the selection of judges transparent?
Is the current method of selecting judges, transparent? Should it be? What can be done to improve it?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Politics
Who said the Prime Minister is not a public officer?
Who said the Prime Minister is not a public officer? Two separate panels of the Court of Appeal did. One panel heard Mahathir’s appeal. It delivered its decision in April of this year. The second panel of the Court of Appeal heard Tony Pua’s appeal and delivered its decision last week. Both Mahathir and Tony Pua had sued the then Prime Minister Najib for the tort of public misfeasance. Both lost. When they ...
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[Edited by S. Kamatchy and Suria Juan Pillai] In an article dated 13.07.2018, the ex-Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid says that from 9:30 p.m. on July 11 up to midnight July 31, 2018 there are now two Chief Justices. Is he right? The long and short of all of this is… When the King accepted the resignations of the outgoing CJ and the PCA on 8 June 2018, their offices ceased. The King did ...
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Can Senators be fired? The answer is Yes, and, No. The ‘No’ comes from those who say that the security of tenure of a Senator is unimpeachable. They point to Article 45 (3) of the Federal Constitution, which states that: - ‘… the term of office of a member of the Senate shall be three years and shall not be affected by a dissolution of Parliament.’ A Senator may be appointed twice, making ...
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Can a judge say in his letter of resignation, "I resign, but the effective date is two months hence"?
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In the last few weeks we have been hearing the phrase ‘the Rule of Law’. It is time to examine this and another related concept, the ‘Separation of Powers’. If we do, we will encourage our nation rulers to work better, work more effectively, and work to produce justice. Rule of Law The concept of Rule of Law is easy to understand. You needn't be a lawyer to know what it is: you can ...
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