Internal Security Act 1960

Independence and the Making of Malaysia · Treatise · 7 min read

What Basic Liberties Does the Malaysian Constitution Protect?

The Emergency Has Not Ended, Yet the Constitution Must Enshrine Personal Liberty, Equality, Speech, Religion, Education, and Property

The independence constitution not only distributes state power but also enshrines fundamental liberties. Part II includes provisions on personal liberty, slavery and forced labor, protection against retrospective criminal laws and repeated trials, equality, freedom of speech, assembly and association, freedom of religion, rights in respect of education, and rights to property. But these freedoms were written in a political climate where the Emergency had not ended, thus they carried restrictions, exceptions, and security pressures from the start. This article serves as an entry point: why freedom matters, and why it should not be mythologized as being completely without limits.

Independence and the Making of Malaysia · Treatise · 7 min read

What Is Article 149 and Malaysia Security Clause?

Article 149 Is Like a Shadow: It Tells You That the Fear of the Emergency Did Not Disappear on Independence Day

Part II writes of fundamental liberties, but the Constitution also writes of national security exceptions. Article 149 allows Parliament, when facing subversion, organized violence, incitement of disaffection against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or government, inter-communal or inter-class hostility, unlawful alteration of the legal order, or threats to public order or security, to enact specific laws, even if these laws are inconsistent with certain fundamental liberty provisions. This article does not defend any security law, nor does it portray security pressure as a fiction; it simply explains why freedom has been written alongside fear in the same constitution from the very beginning.

Two Coalitions and the State Test · Treatise · 3 min read

How Did 1Malaysia Begin? Thirteen ISA Detainees and a New Slogan

Najib first built an image through releases, inclusion and government transformation; a few months later, a new development fund appeared in the same language of fast execution

On the day he took office, Najib announced the release of 13 ISA detainees, lifted temporary bans on two newspapers, and introduced "1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now". The government later launched the GTP and ETP, using indicators and delivery to shape a technocratic image; but power concentrated in a prime minister who was also finance minister made the success or failure of oversight return more directly to one person.