CONSTITUTION OF MALAYSIA

Constitution of Malaysia
PART I - THE STATES, RELIGION AND LAW OF THE FEDERATION

Article number: 1
1.
• (1) The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia.
• (2) The States of the Federation shall be Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Trengganu.
(3) Subject to Clause (4), the territories of each of the States mentioned in Clause (2) are the territories comprised therein immediately before Malaysia Day.
• (4) The territory of the State of Selangor shall exclude the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur established under the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1973 and the territory of the State of Sabah shall exclude the Federal Territory of Labuan established under the Constitution (Amendment) (no. 2) Act 1984, and both the said Federal Territories shall be territories of the Federation.

Article number: 2
2. Parliament may by law -
• (a) admit other States to the Federation;
• (b) alter the boundaries of any State, but a law altering the boundaries of a State shall not be passed without the consent of that State (expressed by a law made by the Legislature of that State) and of the Conference of Rulers.

Article number: 3
3.
• (1) Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.
• (2) In every State other than States not having a Ruler the position of the Ruler as the Head of the religion of Islam in his State in the manner and to the extent acknowledged and declared by the Constitution, all rights, privileges, prerogatives and powers enjoyed by him as Head of that religion, are unaffected and unimpaired; but in any acts, observance or ceremonies with respect to which the Conference of Rulers has agreed that they should extend to the Federation as a whole each of the other Rulers shall in his capacity of Head of the religion of Islam authorize the Yang di-pertuan Agong to represent him.
• (3). The Constitution of the States of Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak shall each make provision for conferring on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be Head of the religion of Islam in that State.
• (4) Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this Constitution.
• (5) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Head of the religion of Islam in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan; and for this purpose Parliament may by law make provisions for regulating Islamic religious affairs and for constituting a Council to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in matters relating to the religion of Islam.

Article number: 4
4.
• (1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
• (2) The validity of any law shall not be questioned on the ground that -
        • (a) it imposes restrictions on the right mentioned in Article 9 (2) but does not relate to the matters mentioned therein; or
        • (b) it imposes such restrictions as are mentioned in Article 10 (2) but those restrictions were not deemed necessary or expedient by Parliament for the purposes mentioned in that Article.
• (3) The validity of any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of any State shall not be questioned on the ground that it makes provision with respect to any matter with respect to which Parliament or, as the case may be, the Legislature of the State has no power to make laws, except in proceedings for a declaration that the law is invalid on that ground or -
       • (a) if the law was made by Parliament, in proceedings between the Federation and one or more States;
       • (b) if the law was made by Legislature of a State, in proceedings between the Federation and that State.
• (4) Proceedings for a declaration that a law is invalid on the ground mentioned in Clause (3) (not being proceedings falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of the Clause) shall not be commenced without the leave of a judge of the Supreme Court; and the Federation shall be entitled to be a party to any such proceedings, and so shall any State that would or might be a party to proceedings brought for the same purpose under paragraph (a) or (b) of the Clause.

5.
• (1) No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.
• (2) Where complaint is made to a High court or any judge thereof that a person is being unlawfully detained the court shall inquire into the complaint and, unless satisfied that the detention is lawful, shall order him to be produced before the court and release him.
• (3) Where a person is arrested he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.
• (4) Where a person is arrested and not released he shall without unreasonable delay, and in any case within twenty-four hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey) be produced before a magistrate and shall not be further detained in custody without the magistrate's authority:
Provided that this Clause shall not apply to the arrest or detention of any person under the existing law relating to restricted residence, and all the provisions of this Clause shall be deemed to have been an integral part of this Article as from Merdeka Day.
• (5) Clauses (3) and (4) do not apply to an enemy alien.

6.
• (1) No person shall be held in slavery.
• (2) All forms of forced labour are prohibited, but Parliament may by law provide for compulsory service for national purposes.
• (3) Work incidental to the serving of a sentence of imprisonment imposed by a court of law shall not be taken to be forced labour within the meaning of this Article.
• (4) Where by any written law the whole or any part of the functions of any public authority is to be carried on by another public authority, for the purpose of enabling those functions to be performed the employees of the first mentioned public authority shall be bound to serve the second mentioned public authority shall not be taken to be forced labour within the meaning of this Article, and no such employee shall be entitled to demand any right from either the first mentioned or the second mentioned public authority by reason of the transfer of his employment.

7.
(1) No person shall be punished for an act or omission which was not punishable by law when it was done or made, and no person shall suffer greater punishment for an offence than was prescribed by law at the time it was committed.
• (2) A person who has been acquitted or convicted of an offence shall not be tried again for the same offence except where the conviction or acquittal has been quashed and a retrial ordered by a court superior to that by which he was acquitted or convicted.

8.
• (1) All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.
• (2) Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.
• (3) There shall be no discrimination in favour of any person on the ground that he is a subject of the Ruler of the State.
• (4) No public authority shall discriminate against any person on the ground that he is resident or carrying on business in any part of the Federation outside the jurisdiction of the authority.
• (5) This Article does not invalidate or prohibit -
        • (a) any provision regulating personal law;
        • (b) any provision or practice restricting office or employment connected with the affairs of any religion, or of an institution managed by a group professing any religion, to persons professing that religion;
        • (c) any provision for the protection, wellbeing or advancement of the aboriginal peoples of the Malay Peninsula (including the reservation of land) or the reservation to aborigines of a reasonable proportion of suitable positions in the public service;
        • (d) any provision prescribing residence in a State or part of a State as a qualification for election or appointment to any authority having jurisdiction only in that State or part, or for voting in such an election;
        • (e) any provision of a Constitution of a State, being or corresponding to a provision in force immediately before Merdeka Day;
        • (f) any provision restricting enlistment in the Malay Regiment to Malays.

9.
• (1) No citizen shall be banished or excluded from the Federation.
• (2) Subject to Clause (3) and to any law relating to the security of the Federation or any part thereof, public order, public health, or the punishment of offenders, every citizen has the right to move freely throughout the Federation and to reside in any part thereof.
• (3) So long as under this Constitution any other State is in a special position as compared with the States of Malaya, Parliament may by law impose restrictions, as between that State and other States, on the rights conferred by Clause (2) in respect of movement and residence.

10.
(1) Subject to Clauses (2), (3) and (4) -
      • (a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression;
      • (b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms;
      • (c) all citizens have the right to form associations.
• (2) Parliament may by law impose -
      • (a) on the rights conferred by paragraph (a) of Clause (1),such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, friendly relations with other countries, public order or morality and restrictions designed to protect the privileges of Parliament or of any Legislative Assembly or to provide against contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to any offence;
      • (b) 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 part thereof, or public order;
      • (c) on the right conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, public order or morality.
• (3) Restrictions on the right to form associations conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1) may also be imposed by any law relating to labour or education.
• (4) In imposing restrictions in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof or public order under Clause (2) (a), Parliament may pass law prohibiting the questioning of any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III, article 152, 153 or 181 otherwise than in relation to the implementation thereof as may be specified in such law.

11.
• (1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.
• (2) No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.
• (3) Every religious group has the right -
        • (a) to manage its own religious affairs;
        • (b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and
        • (c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.
• (4) State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Lubuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.
• (5) This Article does not authorize any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality.

12.
(1) Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth -
• (a) in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority, and, in particular, the admission of pupils or students or the payment of fees; or
• (b) in providing out of the funds of a public authority financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority and whether within or outside the Federation).
• (2) Every religious group has the right to establish and maintain institutions for the education of children in its own religion, and there shall be no discrimination on the ground only of religion in any law relating to such institutions or in the administration of any such law; but it shall be lawful for the Federation or a State to establish or maintain or assist in establishing or maintaining Islamic institutions or provide or assist in providing instruction in the religion of Islam and incur such expenditure as may be necessary for the purpose.
• (3) No person shall be required to receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own.
• (4) For the purposes of Clause (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian.

13.
(1) No person shall be deprived of property save in accordance with law.
• (2) No law shall provide for the compulsory acquisition or use of property without adequate compensation.

14.
• (1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the following persons are citizens by operation of law, that is to say:
        • (a) every person born before Malaysia Day who is a citizen of the Federation by virtue of the provisions contained in Part 1 of the Second Schedule; and
        • (b) every person born on or after Malaysia Day, and having any of the qualifications specified in Part 11 of the Second Schedule.
        • (c) (Repealed).
• (2) (Repealed).
• (3) (Repealed).

15.
• (1) Subject to Article 18, any married woman whose husband is a citizen is entitled, upon making application to the Federal Government, to be registered as a citizen if the marriage was subsisting and the husband a citizen at the beginning of October 1962, or if she satisfies the Federal Government -
• (a) that she has resided in the Federation throughout the two years preceding the date of the application and intends to do so permanently; and
• (b) that she is of good character.
• (2) Subject to Article 18, the Federal Government may cause any person under the age of twenty-one years whose parents one at least is (or was at death) a citizen to be registered as a citizen upon application made to the Federal Government by his parent or guardian.
• (3) Subject to Article 18, a person under the age of twenty-one years who was born before the beginning of October 1962, and whose father is (or was at his death) a citizen and was also a citizen at the beginning of that month (if then alive), is entitled upon application made to the Federal Government by his parent or guardian, to be registered as a citizen if the Federal Government is satisfied that he is ordinarily resident in the Federation and is of good character.
• (4) For the purposes of Clause (1) residence before Malaysia Day in the territories comprised in the States of Sabah and Sarawak shall be treated as residence in the Federation.
• (5) The reference in Clause (1) to a married woman is a reference to a woman whose marriage has been registered in accordance with any written law in force in the Federation, including any such law in force before Merdeka Day, or with any written law in force before Malaysia Day in the territories comprised in the States of Sabah and Sarawak:
Provided that this Clause shall not apply where the woman applies to be registered as a citizen before the beginning of September 1965, or such later date as may be fixed by order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and is at the date of the application ordinarily resident in the States of Sabah and Sarawak.
• (6) (Repealed)

16.
• Subject to Clause (9), the Federal Government may, upon application made by any person of or over the age of twenty-one years who is not a citizen, grant a certificate of naturalization to that person if satisfied -
   • (a) that -
           • (i) he is resided in the Federation for the required periods and intends, if the certificate is granted, to do so permanently;
           • (ii) (Repealed).
   • (b) that he is of good character; and
   • (c) that he has an adequate knowledge of the Malay language.
   • (2) Subject to Clause (9), the Federal Government may, in such special circumstances as it thinks fit, upon application made by any person of or over the age of twenty-one years who is not a citizen, grant a certificate of naturalization to that person if satisfied -
            • (a) that he has resided in the Federation during the seven years immediately preceding the date of the application, for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than five years;
            • (b) that he intends to do so permanently;
            • (c) that he is of good character; and
            • (d) that he has an elementary knowledge of the Malay language.

16A. Subject to Article 18, any person of or over the age of eighteen years who is on Malaysia Day ordinarily resident in the State of Sabah or Sarawak is entitled, upon making application to the Federal Government before September 1971, to be registered as a citizen if he satisfies the Federal Government -
• (a) that he has resided before Malaysia Day in the territories comprised in those States and after Malaysia Day in the Federation for periods which amount in the aggregate to not less than seven years in the ten years immediately preceding the date of the application, and which include the twelve months immediately preceding that date;
• (b) that he intends to reside permanently in the Federation;
• (c) that he is of good character; and
• (d) except where the application is made before September 1965, and the applicant has attained the age of forty-five years at the date of the application, that he has a sufficient knowledge of the Malay language or the English language or, in the case of an applicant ordinarily resident in Sarawak, the Malay language, the English language or any native language in current use in Sarawak.

18.
• (1) No person of or over the age of eighteen years shall be registered as a citizen under this Constitution until he has taken the oath set out in the First Schedule.
• (2) Except with the approval of the Federal Government, no person who has renounced or has been deprived of citizenship under this Constitution or who has renounced or has been deprived of federal citizenship or citizenship of the Federation before Merdeka Day under the Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948 shall be registered as a citizen under this Constitution.
• (3) A person registered as a citizen under this Constitution shall be a citizen by registration from the day on which he is so registered.
• (4) (Repealed).

19.
• (1) Subject to Clause (9), the Federal Government may, upon application made by any person of or over the age of twenty-one years who is not a citizen, grant a certificate of naturalization to that person if satisfied -
       • (a) that -
          • (i) he has resided in the Federation for the required periods and intends, if the certificate is granted, to do so permanently;
          • (ii) (Repealed).
          • (b) that he is of good character; and
          • (c) that he has an adequate knowledge of the Malay language.
• (2) Subject to Clause (9), the Federal Government may, in such special circumstances as it thinks fit, upon application made by any person of or over the age of twenty-one years who is not a citizen, grant a certificate of naturalization to that person if satisfied -
       • (a) that he has resided in the Federation for the required periods and intends, if the certificate is granted, to do so permanently;
          • (b) that he is of good character; and
          • (c) that he has an adequate knowledge of the Malay language.
• (3) The periods of residence in the Federation or the relevant part of it which are required for the grant of a certificate of naturalization are periods which amount in the aggregate to not less than ten years in the twelve years immediately preceding the date of the application for the certificate, and which include the twelve months immediately preceding that date.
• (4) For the purposes of Clauses (1) and (2) residence before Malaysia Day in the territories comprised in the States of Sabah and Sarawak shall be treated as residence in the Federation; and for purposes of Clause (2) residence in Singapore before Malaysia Day or with the approval of the Federal Government residence in Singapore after Malaysia Day shall be treated as residence in the Federation.
• (5) A person to whom a certificate of naturalization is granted shall be a citizen by naturalization from the date on which the certificate is granted.
• (6) (Repealed)
• (7) (Repealed)
• (8) (Repealed)
• (9) No certificate of naturalization shall be granted to any person until he has taken the oath set out in the First Schedule.

22. If any new territory is admitted to the Federation after Malaysia Day in pursuance of Article 2, parliament may by law determine what persons are to be citizens by reason of their connection with that territory and the date or dates from which such persons are to be citizens.