Constitution of Malaysia

Federal Constitution of Malaysia
*Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia*
Federal Constitution of Malaysia ; Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia
	The Federal Constitution reprint 2020
Overview
Jurisdiction	Malaysia
Ratified	27 August 1957
System	Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Government structure
Branches	Three (Executive, Legislature and Judiciary)
Head of state	Yang Di-Pertuan Agong
Chambers	Two (Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat)
Federalism	Federal[citation needed]
Signatories	Delegates of the Reid Commission and later of the Cobbold Commission

The Federal Constitution of Malaysia (Malay: Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia), which came into force in 1957 as the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and was amended in 1963 to form the Constitution of Malaysia, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles.^[1] It is a written legal document influenced by two previous documents, the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948 and the Independence Constitution of 1957. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the states of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (now independent) became part of the Federation.^[2] The Constitution establishes the Federation as a constitutional monarchy, having the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of State with largely ceremonial roles.^[3] It provides for the establishment and organisation of three main branches of the government: the bicameral legislative branch called the Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) and the Senate (Dewan Negara); the executive branch led by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers and the judicial branch headed by the Federal Court.^[4]

^ See Article 4(1) of the Constitution which states that "The Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law which is passed after Merdeka Day (31 August 1957) which is inconsistent with the Constitution shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void."
^ Article 1(1) of the Constitution originally read "The Federation shall be known by the name of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (in English the Federation of Malaya)". This was amended in 1963 when Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore formed a new federation to "The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia."
^ See Article 32(1) of the Constitution which provides that "There shall be a Supreme Head of the Federation, to be called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong..." and Article 40 which provides that in the exercise of his functions under the Constitution or federal law the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or an authorised minister except as otherwise provide in certain limited circumstances, such as the appointment of the Prime Minister and the withholding of consent to a request to dissolve Parliament.
^ These are provided for in various parts of the Constitution: For the establishment of the legislative branch see Part IV Chapter 4 – Federal Legislature, for the executive branch see Part IV Chapter 3 – The Executive and for the judicial branch see Part IX.

[1] See Article 4(1) of the Constitution which states that "The Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law which is passed after Merdeka Day (31 August 1957) which is inconsistent with the Constitution shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void."

[2] Article 1(1) of the Constitution originally read "The Federation shall be known by the name of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (in English the Federation of Malaya)". This was amended in 1963 when Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore formed a new federation to "The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia."

[3] See Article 32(1) of the Constitution which provides that "There shall be a Supreme Head of the Federation, to be called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong..." and Article 40 which provides that in the exercise of his functions under the Constitution or federal law the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or an authorised minister except as otherwise provide in certain limited circumstances, such as the appointment of the Prime Minister and the withholding of consent to a request to dissolve Parliament.

[4] These are provided for in various parts of the Constitution: For the establishment of the legislative branch see Part IV Chapter 4 – Federal Legislature, for the executive branch see Part IV Chapter 3 – The Executive and for the judicial branch see Part IX.

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