Conversations on the Constitution - Federal–State Relations: Should states be given more power?
Organised by the Malaysian Bar Council's Constitutional Law Committee
and supported by the High Commission of Canada
Date: Thursday, 11 March 2010
Time: 2.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.
Venue: The Annexe Gallery, Central Market Annexe , Kuala Lumpur
Forum speakers :
- Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Member of Parliament
- Haji Sulaiman Abdullah, Advocate & Solicitor, and
- Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Advocate & Solicitor
Programme:
1400h: Arrival & registration of guests
1430h: Welcome speech by Ragunath Kesavan, President of the Malaysian Bar
1440h: Remarks by James Stone, Political Counsellor of the High Commission of Canada
1450h: Audio-visual presentation on the MyConstitution Campaign
1500h: Forum
1600h: Question & Answer
1630h: Tea
1700h: Ends
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/3084-constitutional-crisis-has-worsened-since-last-polls-says-bar-council
ReplyDelete10 Mar 2010, By Jaynne Koh
KUALA LUMPUR: The March 8, 2008 political tsunami did more than eat into Barisan Nasional’s half-century monopoly on Malaysian politics. It also triggered off a series of constitutional crisis, according to the Malaysian Bar Council.
The council's chairman of the Constitutional Law Committee Edmund Bon Tai Soon said: "The constitution already had a lot of conflicts since 1957.
“But the situation is even worst now since the March 8 general election, as many states have come under the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition."
According to Edmund, there are numerous differences and similarities between the state and the federal constitution, which will be discussed in a forum to be held tomorrow.
"For example, the appointment or expulsion of a Menteri Besar and State Executive Councillor (exco) is the same in both state and federal governments," he said, alluding to the Perak crisis.
In a landmark ruling last month, the Federal Court ruled Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the valid Perak Menteri Besar over Pakatan Rakyat’s Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin despite the fact that opposition Pakatan Rakyat was constitutionally elected to power by the people of Perak in March 2008.
Edmund said the forum titled “Conversations on the constitution" would focus on federal–state relations.
"Should states be given more power? This forum aims to discuss whether, based on the constitution today, the powers of state have been diluted in theory and in practice. We will also discuss whether the powers of the central government have been abused to the detriment of the state," he said.
The forum is the third phase of the Bar Council’s MyConstitution Campaign.
Speakers invited to the forum include Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and constitutional lawyers Sulaiman Abdullah and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.
The forum, which is open to public, will be held tomorrow at 2pm at The Annexe Gallery of Central Market Annexe in Kuala Lumpur.