CHAPTER 7: FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES

Up to now, we have discussed how a person can become a Malaysian citizen, and what the state expects of him to do. Now let us see what the State is obliged to do for its citizens. This is written in the second part of our Constitution and is dealt with under the heading "Fundamental Liberties". These are explained under nine sub-headings as given below.

RIGHT OF LIFE

The Constitution states that no person can be deprived of his life except in accordance with the law. A person who takes the life of another, even in self-defence, or a driver who knocks and kills other people, is, therefore, brought before the Courts of Law. It is the Court which reaches the final decision, and if the person is found guilty, then he has to pay the penalty. This is a very long way off from the days when people used to fight duels or lynch someone who had done them wrong. Today, this would mean taking the law into your own hands, and this is very serious offence.

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

This is another fundamental liberty that the Constitution grants its citizens. This allows a citizen to move freely throughout the country and to reside in any part that he thinks is suitable. But, sometimes it is necessary to restrict the movement of certain people. This may be in the case of a person who has taken the law into his own hands. The action of the police authorities may be justified on this matter, but to ensure that the power is not abused, freedom of movement can only be controlled under a number of conditions. Therefore, when a person is arrested, the police must explain the reason as to the arrest and make sure that the person understands this. The police must allow him to get the help of a lawyer that he chooses. Finally, the police cannot detain a person for more than 24 hours (excluding holidays and time spent on travelling). He must appear before a Magistrate within 24 hours. Only a Magistrate has the power to detain a person for a further period. It is only in an emergency that the Government has powers to go beyond the conditions discussed earlier. And to do that, approval must be obtained from the Yang Dipertuan Agong, the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. Then again, a person who feels that he has been detained unlawfully, has the right to claim the protection of the Supreme Court. In fact, this applies to all people.

The Constitution also prohibits repeated trials. This means that once a person is convicted or made free, he cannot be charged again for the same crime. This can only be done if an Appeal Court makes the previous trial null and void and then orders a retrial. To obtain a retrial is not an easy matter.

SLAVERY

The Constitution says that no person shall be held in slavery. All forms of forced labour are prohibited. However, in the case of National Service, Parliament can pass laws calling the people to do their period of compulsory service. This is for the benefit of the country too, especially when the nation is fighting for honour and justice. It should be noted here that the period a prisoner spends during his term of sentence, shall not be taken as forced labour.

BANISHMENT

According to Article 8 of our Constitution >

1.All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law.

2.Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimin­ation against citizens on the ground of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishment or carrying on of any trade, employment, business, profession, or vacation related to employment.

Though this article is a very important one, it is also the one with the most exceptions. For example, in most countries, only men are called upon to do "National Service". Most employers pay women less than men for doing the same job. Thus different countries have passed other laws to amend this article.

In Malaysia, in keeping with the opening words given in Clause 2, the Yang Dipertuan Agong and Parliament have allowed some favour to be shown for the advancement and welfare of the aborigines and help Malays to participate in business and public life. It is due to this that we have a quota system in government jobs and scholarships, Malay land reservations, and that only Malays can be recruited into the Malay Regiment. Another example is that a citizen by naturalisation or by registration cannot be the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH, ASEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION

Once again, these are restricted by Acts of Parliament. These can be seen in the example given below:

(a) Speech

Parliament has the right to restirct this for the security of the country. This is made clear in Section 28 of the Internal Security Act, which outlines "Any person, who, by word of mouth or ... by any other means spreads false reports or makes false state­ments likely to cause public alarm, shall be guilty of an offence . ..

Freedom of speech can also be restricted to promote friendly relations with other countries. It is for this reason that the Government has control over newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books and other printed matter. These affect our daily life. Magazines which are bad for public morality are prohibited.

Even in our Courts, freedom of speech has certain limits. And a person who goes beyond this limit, may find himself in trouble for contempt of court. In addition to this, there are also limitations to maintain the dignity and integrity of other indivi­duals.

(b) Freedom of Assembly

The most immediate limitation here is that the people who assemble must be unarmed. There are cases when stricter rules have been imposed. For example, when the Indians were fighting for their independence, the British government imposed many restrictions. One of these was that not more than five people could assemble at one place, and that they should be unarmed. By looking at the above, the restriction imposed by our government is a genuine one, because, apart from carrying arms for the defence of the country, etc., as permitted by law, there is no reason why armed people should assemble if their intention is not to break the law.

(c) Freedom of association

According to the law, this means that a person has the right to join any lawful society, organization, political party, trade union, etc. This freedom can only be restricted to safeguard public order, security and morality. This was done during the Emergency. Such restriction needs the consent of Parliament or a Proclamation by the Yang Dipertuan Agong.

(d) Freedom of religion.

Religious freedom is guaranteed by law. A religion can be preached so long as:

1.No attempts are made to convert Muslims to other religions.

2.The work of preaching does not have any bad effects on public order, health or morals.

Religious groups are allowed to hold property, build schools, places of worships and other homes for charity. But no one can be forced to pay money to any other religion except his own. Schools which are run by missions cannot force pupils of other religions to attend their religious classes.

EDUCATION

Government schools and those run by public bodies are not allowed to have discrimin­ation on grounds of race, religion, or place of birth. The fees charged are the same for all. The government also gives grants-in-aid to most schools, under certain situations. However, in the case of Muslim religious schools, special grants may be made.

PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

All persons are entitled to own, acquire or dispose of property in accordance with the law. No person can be deprived of his property except in accordance with the law. But no law can order a property to be taken over, unless fair and reasonable compensation has been paid.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we hope that the reader now has ap idea of the link which exists between the citizen and the nation. We have a good example here in which the people originating from different countries and are of different races have become citizens of this country. Our Constitution considers various aspects. These are to safeguard the Fundamental Liberties of its citizens. It is hoped that with the sense of awareness in us with regard to our duties to the country and in turn its duties to us, we would make Malaysia a free, happy, peaceful, prosperous, and united nation.