Federal Constitution: Fundamental Liberties Freedom of Association Freedom of Assembly

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Federal

Constitution

Freedom of
Assembly

Fundamental
Liberties

Freedom of
Speech

Freedom of
Association

Introduction

Federal Constitution
Federal

Constitution is the Supreme


Law of the land based on Article 4(1).

Federal

Constitution were drafted by


Reid Commission which lead Lord
Reid along with his team, Sir Ivor
Jennings, Sir William Mckell, Hakim
bin Malik and Hakim Abdul Hamid.

The Constitution came into force on


27th
August
1957
but
formal
independence was only achieved on

Fundamental Liberties

Fundamental Liberties
The

Constitution is divided
into
15
parts
and
13
schedules.
Fundamental Liberties is in
Part II
There
are 8 Articles for
Fundamental Liberties

1)Article

5-Right to life and Liberty

2)Article

6-No Slavery

3)Article

7- No Retrospective Criminal Laws


or Increases in Punishment and no
Repetition of Criminal Trials

4)Article

8-Equality

5)Article

9- Prohibition of Banishment and


Freedom of Movement

6)Article

10-Freedom of Speech, Assembly


and Association

7)Article

11-Freedom of Religion

8)Article

12-Rights in respect of education

9)Article

13-Rights to Property

Article 10-Freedom of Speech,


Assembly and Association
Article

10(1) grants freedom of speech,


the right to assemble peaceably and the
right to form associations to every
Malaysian citizen but such freedom and
rights are not absolute

Law

on freedom of assembly- people


are given the rights to assembly but they
have certain rules and regulation that they
have to obey if not the authorities will take
action against them.

Law

on freedom of speech- people are


given the right to express their right in many
ways even using the media but there are rules
and regulation that they have to follow and
obey to avoid miscommunication and giving
the wrong facts .

Law

on freedom of Association- people are


given the right to form their own association
or organization but there are certain rules and
regulation they have to obey and follow to
avoid any wrongdoings done by the
association and maintain the peace of the
country.

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBL

DIFINITION
Based

on Article 10 of the Federal


Constitution,

every citizen has the right to assemble


peaceably
and
without
arms.
Parliament may by law imposed on the
right conferred by paragraph (b) of
Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems
necessary or expedient in the interest
of the security of the Federation or any

Freedom

of assembly is the
right of every individual to
peacefully assemble and
express themselves in any
association without arms.

Often

with

used interchangeably
the
freedom
of

LIMITATION TO FREEDOM
OF ASSEMBLY
The

freedom of assembly is
limited on the grounds of
maintaining security and
public order

police permit is needed for


all public assemblies except

PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY BILL


2011
The

Peaceful Assembly Bill was


tabled in Parliament for its first
reading on 22 November 2011.
This Bill in replacing the
legislative provision in Section
27 of the Police Act 1967,
introduced several controversial
and objectionable provisions for
instance,

1)

prohibition of street protests;

2)

prohibition of organization of
assemblies by persons below the
age of twenty one years;

3)

prohibition of participation in
peaceful assemblies of children
below the age of fifteen years;

4)

unduly onerous responsibilities and


restrictions on organizers and
assemblies;

PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT


2012
The

Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 was


passed by the Parliament after six
amendments were made to the Bill.

The

Bill passed with no dissenting votes


after the Opposition refused to take part in
the debate and staged a walkout before
the some amendments were tabled by the
Minister
in
the
Prime
Ministers
Department, Datuk Seri Nazri

The

Bill was passed before Deputy Speaker

law

which regulates public protests in


Malaysia

the

Act allows the citizens to


organize
and
participate
in
assemblies peaceably and without
arms, subject to restrictions deemed
necessary and in the interest of
public order and security.

The

Act was drafted four months


after the Bersih 2.0 rally and two
months
after
the
government

The
1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

amendments include:

Sub-Clause 9 (1)- where the 30-day notice period


required to be given to the police was changed to 10
days.
Clause 12 (b)- objections against a proposed assembly
must be lodged with the police writing within 48 hours
instead of five days.
Clause 14- the change included the provision for police
to give a reply to organizers within 5 days instead of
12 days.
Clause 16 (a)- appeal against the rejection of an
application or the exercise of police discretionary orders
to organizers can be done within 48 hours of receipt,
instead of four days
Clause 16 (b)- the Home Minister is to answer any
appeals within 48 hours of receipt instead of six
days.

1)

Organizers must notify the officer in charge of the


police district (OCPD) within 10 days before the
gathering date.

2)

The OCPD will respond to the notification within five


days, outlining the conditions and restrictions
imposed.

3)

An organizer may appeal to the Ministry of Home


Affairs if he/she feels aggrieved by the restrictions
and conditions and the minister will respond within
two days.

4)

Any person convicted of failing to comply with the


conditions and restrictions can be fines up to RM
10,000.

5)

The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 also bans any


assembly in the form of street protest.

ASSEMBLIES FOR WHICH


NOTIFICATION IS NOT REQUIRED

1)

Religious assemblies

2)

Funeral processions

3)

Wedding receptions

4)

Open houses during festivities

5)

Family gatherings

6)

Family day held by an employer for


the benefit of his employees and
their families

FREEDOM OF Speec

What is freedom of speech?


Human

right to speak out their

opinion.
In

Malaysia,the provision on
freedom of speech was stated in
Article 10 of federal constitution.

What are under freedom of speech?

Oral

communication
Written comunnication
Sign
Symbols
Art work
Music,lyrics
Photo
Magazine and newspaper

Do we have the freedom to say anything we like?

NO.

There are several restriction on


freedom of speech.

Things

which deems necessary in the


interest of security of the federation.

Things

that will affect the friendly


relations with other countries.

Things

that will affect the public


order or morality.

Several Act of Law which


Regulate Freedom of
Speech
Sedition

Act
Police Act
Official Secret Act
Printing Presses and
Publication Act

Why this restriction exist?


Protect

the
privileges
of
Parliament
or
legislative
Assembly

Provide

against contempt of
court,
defamation
or
incitement to any offence.

FREEDOM OF ASSociation

Freedom of association is the right to join


or leaves groups of a persons own choosing,
and for the group to take collective actions
to pursue the interests of the members.

Specifically,

freedom
of
assembly
is
understood in political context, and also, the
freedom of association can be understood to
include the right to freedom of assembly.

According

to
Federal
Constitution
of
Malaysia, the freedom of association falls
under Article (10) (1) (c), which states that
all citizens has rights to form associations.

In addition, Parliament may by law impose


such restrictions as it may deems
necessary or expedient in the interest of
the security of the Federation or any part
thereof, public order or morality.

Restrictions on the freedom of associations


may also be imposed by any law relation to
labour or education

Acts Pertaining to
Freedom of Association
The

Societies Acts of 1966

Sec.

2 of The Societies Acts of 1966 defines


society as any association of seven or more
people, excluding schools, businesses, and
trade unions. Societies must be approved
and registered by the government, which
has refused or revoked registrations for
political reasons.

Numerous

numbers of non- governmental


organizations operate in Malaysia, but some
international human rights organizations are

Most

Malaysian workers excluding


migrant workers are able to join trade
unions, but the law contravenes
international guidelines by restricting
unions to representing workers either
in a single or similar trade.

The

Director General of Trade Unions


can refuse or withdraw registration
arbitrarily, and the union recognition
can take up from 18-36 months.

Acts of Freedom of
Association
Universities

and University Colleges

Act
-This act mandates the universities
approval for student association and
prohibits students association and also
the faculty members from joining the
political activity.
-As a result, many students, NGOs, and
political parties are called for repeal or

In

2001, the Parliament amended the


Registration of Businesses Acts to
enable the Registrar to revoke or
refuse
the
registration
of
organizations deemed to be engaging
in unlawful activities or with purposes
that were incompatible with national
security.

Example for Freedom of


Association
Parti

Kerajaan Insan Tanah Air (Kita)

has

been officially registered as a political party


under the Registrar of Societies (ROS) on 19th
January 2011.

There

are a few concerns about the level which


union activity and associational rights in the
labour context are not protected. Malaysian
government
has
proceeded
to
table
amendments to the Employment (Amendment)
Bill 2011 despite protests from workers, trade

The

proposed
changes
to
the
Employment Act would be most harmful
to workers right, trade unions, and the
existing
just
direct
two-party
employment relationship between worker
and end- user (the principal).

In

addition, the Federal Court of


Malaysias
jurisprudence
on
the
constitutional protection of collective
bargaining rights has left open the
possibility that some of the workers

Cases on Freedom of
Association
i)

First case is the case of Dewan Undangan


Negeri Kelantan v Nordin Salleh (1992) 2
CLJ 1125

Under

this case, the State Legislature of


Kelantan has passed an amendment to the
State Constitution, which has provided for
an anti-hopping law. Under the amendment,
it was provided that any members of the
State Legislature who is a member of a
political party, resigns or expelled from or

The

amendment was challenged as


being contrary to the Right of
Association according to Article 10 of
Federal Constitution. The Federal
Court in declaring the amendment
was as void being ultra vires the
Federal Constitution, accepted the
liberal principles of constitutional
interpretation and held that any state
action which makes the exercise of
human rights is ineffective or illusory

Second

case is, Sivarasa Rasiah v


Badan Peguam &Anor (2010) 2 MLJ 333

In

this case, where the appellant, an advocate and


solicitor and also a member of Parliament , wished
to serve as an elected member on the Bar Council,
which is the governing body of Malaysian Bar.

However,

Sec. 46 A (1) of the Legal Profession Act ,


disqualified amongst others a member of
Parliament, from being a member of the Bar
Council.

The

appellant
challenged
the
constitutionality of Sec. 46 A (1) of the
Act in the grounds that the section
violated his rights of equality and equal
protection as guaranteed by Article 10(1)
(c) of the Constitution; and that it
violated his right to personal liberty.

The

Federal Court held to dismiss the


appeal, claiming that Article 10 (1) (c)
did not apply to the Malaysian Bar and
furthermore, Sec. 46 A (1) did not even
violates
Article
(10)
(c)
of
the

Conclusion

As

the conclusion, the citizens of Malaysia


are given the rights based on the Federal
Constitution and it is crucial for the
citizens to understand the rules and
regulation that is fixed in the constitution
in order to avoid any misbehave and

Thank You.

ANY QUESTION? COMMENT?


SUGGESTION?

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