English text of constitution still authoritative, govt says in response to suit

 The government says two landmark Federal Court rulings on unilateral conversions in 2018 and last year have put the matter to rest.

Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla wants the Kuala Lumpur High Court to declare that the Bahasa Melayu version of the Federal Constitution should take precedence over the English version.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The English version of the Federal Constitution remains its authoritative text, Putrajaya has said in response to a suit filed by a lawyer, citing two Federal Court decisions as precedents.

The government said that to date, there has been no determination by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 160B of the constitution that the Bahasa Melayu text of the nation’s founding instrument was supreme.

Article 160B provides that where the constitution has been translated into the Malay language, the king may prescribe it as authoritative.

Article 40 states that the monarch is to act on the advice of the Cabinet.

“The English version of the constitution is the one that prevails, as decided by the Federal Court in the cases of Indira Gandhi and Loh Siew Hong,” the government said in its defence to the lawsuit.

Last year, a three-member Federal Court panel dismissed a contention by the Perlis Islamic religious and Malay customs council (MAIPs) that unilateral conversions are permissible under the law based on the constitution’s Malay text.

In denying MAIPs leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling striking down the unilateral conversion of Loh’s three minor children, now retired judge Nallini Pathmanathan said the question as to which is the authoritative text of the constitution had been put to rest in Indira Gandhi’s case.

In 2018, a five-member apex court bench held that the word “parent” in the English version meant that the consent of both parents was required for the conversion of a minor to Islam, since the word could refer to either the child’s father or mother.

The government said lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who represented MAIPs in that case, brought the present action as he was dissatisfied with the rulings handed down by the Court of Appeal and Federal Court in Loh’s case.

Haniff filed his present writ action in the Kuala Lumpur High Court last year, naming the government as the sole defendant.

He is seeking a court declaration that the Bahasa Melayu version of the constitution should take precedence over the English version.

Haniff pointed out that although the king launched the Malay version of the constitution on Sept 29, 2003, the government has yet to designate it as the authoritative text.

He argued that the omission was a breach of the government’s constitutional duty to take the necessary steps to uphold and dignify the national language.

The case is scheduled for a four-day hearing beginning May 24, 2027. - FMT