KUALA LUMPUR: With the proposal to review several pieces of legislation, including 147 laws that are deemed outdated, a lawyer queried if the authoritative, full Malay version of the Federal Constitution actually existed, years after it was unveiled in 2003.
Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdul said as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's government was championing the use of the national language at the global stage, the question became more relevant today.
He said Article 152 of the Constitution outlined the national language of the country.
"In 2003, the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong was invited to an official function called the official launch of the Malay (version of the) Constitution.
"The prime minister, at the time, was represented by (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was then the deputy prime minister. The event was reported by an English daily on Sept 30, 2003.
"The speech by the solicitor-general (at the event) pointed out over the last 20 years before that day, the Attorney-General's Chambers had diligently put together the translation with help of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
"They were confident that what they drafted was the proper and official version of what should be prescribed as the Federal Constitution under Article 160B.
"However, until now, the authorities have never confirmed whether that event had actually produced an official Malay version of the Constitution," he said.
Article 160B stated that where the Constitution has been translated into the national language, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may prescribe the text to be authoritative, and thereafter if there is any conflict or discrepancy between such national language text and the English language text of the Constitution, the national language text shall prevail over the English text.
"Can we live in a country that is independent for almost 65 years without having our Constitution, the biggest (supreme) law in the country, in the official (national) language?" Haniff asked.
Constitutional expert Professor Datuk Dr Shamrahayu Ab Aziz said the national language text of the Constitution had yet to be recognised as the "main and final reference" of the Federal Court although the Malay version of the Constitution had been consented by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2003.
Shamrahayu, who is the Institution of Malay Rulers chair at Universiti Teknologi Mara, said although the official Malay translation of the Constitution was available, more needed to be done to ensure the translation corresponded to the history behind the drafting and inclusions of provisions in the Constitution.
"I believe that this needs to be looked into by a group of experts to ensure the translated version honours and reflects the history of the Constitution fairly.
"The translation must respect the history on why the provisions were inserted in the Constitution in the first place.
"Although the Malay version is available, I believe that it still needs to be checked and reviewed before it is presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and finalised as an authoritative version of the Constitution."
She said the government should avoid taking a "shortcut" by acknowledging the existence of the Malay translation and accepting it as the authoritative version of the Constitution.
"I believe that we must check, review and revisit the translated Malay version before going ahead with gazetting it as the authoritative version.
"This needs to be done very carefully, because there are historical and sociocultural backgrounds as to why certain provisions were inserted in the Constitution.
"This is also to ensure the provisions are in harmony with our history."