Lecture: 'The Judiciary and Constitutional Change in Malaysia'

Malaysia has grappled with the issue of constitutional change as early as its conception. Parliament has passed more than 60 constitutional amendments – the most recent one having just been passed in October 2024 – but few have so radically altered the constitutional landscape as the 1988 amendment to Art. 121(1). The amendment not only sought to reformulate the principle of separation of powers but also redraw the jurisdictional boundaries between the civil High Court and the syariah courts.

In this talk Rashidah Abdul Hamid and Zheng Hong See will discuss the role of the judiciary in steering constitutional change brought on by radical amendments. In the first part of this talk, Rashidah will examine the judiciary’s adoption of the basic structure doctrine in response to the amendment and how the courts’ application of the doctrine has resulted in a contradictory formulation of judicial power in Malaysia. In the second part of the talk, Zheng Hong will discuss how the doctrine’s adoption was only made possible by a change within the judiciary. Judicial self-perception of its role and power had shifted, partly due to the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) in 2009.

Nibbles and drinks will be provided.