KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — The English version of the Federal Constitution is the nation’s authoritative legal document until the Yang di-Pertuan Agong declares otherwise, Putrajaya has asserted in its official defence against a lawsuit seeking to elevate the Bahasa Melayu version.
The government stated that the Agong has not yet prescribed the Bahasa Melayu text as supreme under Article 160B of the constitution, which allows for such a declaration to be made, Free Malaysia Today reported.
It cited two landmark Federal Court rulings in the cases of Indira Gandhi and Loh Siew Hong as binding precedents that have already settled the matter.
“The English version of the constitution is the one that prevails,” the government said in its statement of defence.
The lawsuit was filed last year by lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who is seeking a court declaration that the Bahasa Melayu version of the constitution should take precedence.
Haniff argued that although a translated Malay version was launched in 2003, the government has since failed in its constitutional duty to dignify the national language by not taking the necessary steps to make it the authoritative text.
In its defence, the government noted that Haniff had represented the Perlis Islamic religious and Malay customs council (MAIPs) in the Loh Siew Hong case.
It suggested the present lawsuit was brought due to his dissatisfaction with the Federal Court’s ruling in that case, which struck down the unilateral conversion of Loh’s three children based on the English text’s interpretation of the word “parent.”
In both the Indira Gandhi and Loh Siew Hong cases, the apex court held that the word “parent” in the English version required the consent of both parents for a minor’s conversion to Islam, overriding interpretations of the Malay text.
The case is scheduled for a four-day hearing at the High Court here, beginning on May 24, 2027.
