Public Forum: How Secular is Our Constitution?

The Bar Council is hosting a public forum on the secular aspects of the Federal Constitution. Sebarkan!

The Federal Constitution is the “rule-book” or manual for Malaysia. It sets up our system of government and the disposition of power between the Federal Government and the states. It guarantees certain fundamental liberties and formulates special provisions for certain ethnic communities in multireligious and multiracial Malaysia.

Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution states that the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation. Any law passed which is inconsistent with the Federal Constitution would be void insofar as the inconsistency. Reading this together with Article 3(1) on the religion of the Federation, it has been argued that ours is a secular constitution. Yet at the same time, laws have been passed according to the precepts of religion. How secular is our Federal Constitution?

The Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee in collaboration with several volunteers is organising a public forum on the above topic to explore the secular aspects of the Constitution. Details are as follows:

Date: 6 July 2013 (Saturday)

Time: 9.30 am to 2.00 pm

Venue: Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council

The speakers who will be addressing the issues at the forum among others include:

1. Dr. Ahmad Farouk Musa

2. Nizam Bashir Abdul Kariem

3. Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, and

4. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari.

For more details or to register, kindly contact Anusha Gopala Krishnan (03-2050 2097); [email protected]) or Mohd Fazli Rosman (03-2050 2105); [email protected]).