Why “MyConstitution”?Remember when some of us were much younger and we were taught to recite the Rukun Negara in school –
Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan, Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara, Keluhuran Perlembagaan, Kedaulatan Undang-Undang, Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan – What did all of that mean?
Keluhuran Perlembagaan is translated as “The Supremacy of the Constitution”. But what is the Constitution? In any case, how can the Constitution, whatever it is, be supreme? Is it a living thing? The average Malaysian has little, if any, knowledge of the contents of the Constitution, let alone its purpose and place in our country’s landscape. Many lawyers fare no better.
Probably for the first time in the history of our nation, a Campaign to answer some of these burning questions has been initiated by the 99-member Constitutional Law Committee (ConstiLC) of the Bar Council comprising of lawyers, academics, students, media personnel and civil society activists.
What is “MyConstitution”?The
MyConstitution Campaign or
Kempen PerlembagaanKu, conceived in July 2009, is a 2-year nationwide educational and awareness campaign on the most important document of our nation – the Malaysian Federal Constitution. The Constitution being the “rule-book” for our country sets up our system of government – Parliament, the Executive, the Judiciary – and the division of power between the Federal Government and the State Governments. It guarantees certain fundamental liberties for the individual. It formulates special provisions for various ethnic communities in multi-religious and multi-racial Malaysia. The Constitution covers both the macro and micro aspects of the average Malaysian life, from the simple right to freedom of movement, to the right to democratic governance.
MyConstitution seeks to educate Malaysians at all levels of society on the role, function and content of the Constitution, and to promote the concept of constitutionalism. MyConstitution was officially launched at the Bar Council Auditorium on 13 November 2009 by Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who in his speech said this:
Against this emerging interest in the Constitution, the Bar Council has indeed chosen an opportune time to hold the MyConstitution Campaign and launch the 1st Rakyat Guide. In fact I was approached some time ago by the Bar Council with this idea and shown an early version of the 1st Rakyat Guide: “What is the Federal Constitution?”
Needless to say I was immediately attracted to the idea and am assured that it will go down well with the public. We will be exploring ways in which the Federal Government is considering a tie in with this Campaign and the Bar Council. From what I have seen, it is a young and vibrant Campaign that will go a long way towards dispelling the notion that the Constitution is only meant for lawmakers, government officials and lawyers.
The colourful logo is certainly a good start and I think it will draw many people to the Campaign. In this vein may I congratulate the Bar Council on their initiative, which carries much creativity and far-sightedness, all in the interest of making the Malaysian citizen more aware of the Constitution.
(The Full text of the speech may be accessed here: http://www.perlembagaanku.com/2009/12/speech-of-datuk-liew-vui-keong-at-the-launching-of-myconstitution-campaign/)
MyConstitution is being rolled out in 9 phases, each delivered by way of a nifty pocket-sized booklet, “The Rakyat Guides”, and a 1-minute video clip, the “Rakyat Service Advertisement”. The phases cover 9 core themes of the Constitution: (i) the supremacy of the Constitution (ii) institutions of the Constitution and the separation of powers (iii) federal-state relations (iv) fundamental liberties of the rakyat (v) Parliament (vi) the Executive (vii) the Judiciary (viii) elections and democracy, and (ix) Sabah and Sarawak.
There are approximately 28 million Malaysians, and the Rakyat Guides should reach everyone. However, this ideal is a long term goal; MyConstitution’s target for the next 2 years is to reach and educate youth and young adults from ages 15 to 35, with an initial publication and distribution of 100,000 copies of each of the 9 Rakyat Guides, publication of the Rakyat Guides in newspapers and websites and dissemination of softcopies of the booklets through tertiary academic institutions and governmental agencies.
To achieve our goal, we are working with the Federal Government, State Governments, the corporate sector, academic institutions, NGOs and media organisations, specifically with regard to the publication and distribution of the Rakyat Guides to various segments of society.
Hyping up “MyConstitution” MyConstitution has just started. But so far, the campaign has achieved a great deal of positive interest and commitment from many segments:
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| the Federal Government and several State Governments have expressed strong support for the Campaign; |
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| it has received unprecedented media coverage, and it has been featured
in, among others Off The Edge, New Straits Times, New Sunday Times,
Berita Harian, Harian Metro, Sinar Harian, Malay Mail, The Star, The
Sunday Star, The Sun, KLue, The Malaysian Insider, Malaysian Mirror,
The Nut Graph, Merdeka Review, Sin Chew Jit Poh, Astro Awani, Astro’s
radio stations, NTV7 and TVSelangor; |
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| MyConstitution has been featured in leading blogs in the country; |
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| it is on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MyConstitution) with over 3,500 fans garnered in a short period of time. |
What can YOU do?The driving force behind MyConstitution are the young. And this is how it should be. For it is the young that will inherit what has been started on 13 November 2009, the day the Campaign was launched. And it is they who will most benefit or suffer from what is done or not done today.
However, MyConstitution cannot be the sole responsibility of the ConstiLC or the Bar Council. It is YOUR Campaign, YOUR movement. MyConstitution is about YOU.
This Campaign is for you, the rakyat.
This Campaign is by us, the people of Malaysia, and it must be carried by the people for it to be successful.
MyConstitution is housed on its dedicated website at www.perlembagaanku.com, and you can follow updates on www.twitter.com/myconsti and at www.youtube.com/user/PerlembagaanKu.
These are some of the simple things that YOU can do:-
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| You can participate in MyConstitution’s online discussions or get more information from our webpages. Educate yourself. |
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| You can download the very first booklet “The Rakyat Guides: What is the
Federal Constitution?” and watch the very first “Rakyat Service
Advertisement: What is the Federal Constitution” now on
www.perlembagaanku.com. |
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| You will soon be receiving hard copies of the first booklet from the
MyConstitution partners – Advocates Association of Sarawak, Sabah Law
Association and Sarawak Indigenous Lawyers’ Association. We hope these
booklets will go with you and be spread out into your cities, your
neighbourhoods and your homes. |
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| Take the booklet, read it. Go home, show it to your family. Get them to read it.
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| Take it to your office. Get your workmates to read it.
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| This weekend, if you meet up with your friends, show it to them – and get them to read it. |
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| Explain the Campaign to your loved ones. You may not know the
Constitution yet. And neither might they. But together, you, they, and
we, can help each other learn. |
Ten years from now, we will all be able to look back on this Campaign and be proud of what we started. And of what we have achieved.
Welcome to YOUR Campaign. Welcome to a new movement.
Let’s rock this nation – together!
(
Phase 2 of MyConstitution on the theme “Institutions of the Constitution and the Separation of Powers” featuring representatives of Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary will be launched at Sunway University College on 15 January 2010. For more information, please see here: www.malaysianbar.org.my/constitutional_law_committee/ or contact ConstiLC’s Executive Officer, Ms Lim Ka Ea at 03-20313180.)
30 December 2009Constitutional Law Committee Bar Council, Malaysia
Committees 
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