Federal Court of Malaysia
Wikipedia ↗Chapters that mention this person or place (3)
What Power Do Malaysian Courts Have?
Parliament Can Legislate, Government Can Execute, But There Must Be a Place to Answer: Did This Cross the Constitution
Constitutional supremacy is just empty words without the courts. Article 121 structures the High Courts and inferior courts system; Article 128 grants the Federal Court jurisdiction over constitutional validity and federal-state disputes; Article 122B and Article 125 manage the appointment and tenure of judges. This article does not explore later judicial crises, but explains why the independence constitution must give the courts a position at the boundary.
What Was the 1988 Judicial Crisis?
Nine judges were meant to hear the fate of a political party, but in the end, it was the judges who were on trial
In 1988, the Supreme Court was preparing to hear the appeal on the old UMNO case. Lord President Salleh Abas was abruptly suspended, and five judges who attempted to grant a temporary injunction were also suspended. How did two tribunals change Malaysia's judicial history?
Should Parliament Amend Act 355 to Increase Syariah Court Criminal Jurisdiction Limits?
Affirmative argues "Parliament should amend it"; Negative argues "the constitutional framework and equality principle do not allow it"—six debaters, open discussion, three judges, every claim sourced
In 1965, Parliament passed Act 355, granting state Syariah courts criminal jurisdiction: maximum 3 years imprisonment, RM5,000 fine, or 6 strokes of caning. PAS President Hadi Awang proposed in 2016 (RUU355) to significantly raise these limits. In February 2024, the Federal Court ruled 8–1 that 16 provisions of Kelantan's Syariah Criminal Code were unconstitutional—states had no power to unilaterally exceed the limits set by the 1965 Act. But does Parliament itself have the power to change that limit? That is the true question at stake.