Part A

Answer 1
This case can be compared with the case of Dato’ Seri IR HJ Mohammad Nizar Bin
Jamaluddin V Dato’ Seri DR Zambry Bin Bin Abdul Kadir. In this case three signatories
changed their support and informed the His Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak (HRH)
about their change of mind. On the same day, the appellant had an audience with HRH,
during which he was informed that his request for the LA's dissolution had been denied.
He was subsequently told that he needed to resign from the executive council because
he no longer had the support of most of State Legislative Assembly of Perak (LA)
members. HRH gave the appellant a directive, which he disobeyed. On the 6th of
February 2009, HRH designated the respondent as the new CM, replacing the appellant.
The court dismissed his appeal reasoning that the MB is deemed to have resigned once
the Sultan has consented not to dissolve the Assembly.
Similarly if YB Jayachandran appeals to the court,it would most likely be dismissed since
motion of no confidence is not required and it is Mandatory for the YB to resign once
the Head of State has asked for it.
Part B
Answer 1
Introduction
Malaysia's Internal Security Act of 1960 was a preventative detention statute. After the
Federation of Malaya gained independence from Britain in 1957, the Act was passed.
Under certain, legally defined conditions, the ISA permits for detention without trial or
criminal charges. On September 15, 2011, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
announced that this act would be abolished and replaced with two new laws. The
Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, which was passed by Parliament and
received royal assent on June 18, 2012, superseded and repealed the ISA. The Act
became effective on July 31, 2012.
Body content
The ISA 1960 protects both the public (both person and property) and the government,
whereas the SOSMA 2012 has been expanded to include not only violence against
person and property, but also the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and is prejudicial to public
order in, or the security of, the Federation or any part thereof; or to procure the
alteration, other than by lawful means, of anything by law established.
On suspicion that "he has acted, is about to act, or is likely to act in any manner
prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof, or to the maintenance of
essential services therein, or to the economic life thereof," a person can be detained for
up to sixty days without a warrant, trial, or access to legal counsel under the ISA 1960.
The Minister of Home Affairs has the authority to prolong the duration of imprisonment
without charge for up to two years at the end of the sixty-day period. Without charge or
a court appearance, this illegal incarceration can be renewed every two years,
effectively allowing indefinite detention without trial. A police officer may arrest or
detain without a warrant any individual who he has grounds to think is involved in an
offence under the SOSMA 2012. Unlike the ISA 1960, however, s. 4 (2) requires the
police officer making the arrest to inform the person arrested about the reason for the
arrest. Furthermore, under s. 5, the police officer conducting the inquiry is required to
notify the person arrestee’s legal practitioner and to allow the person to contact a legal
practitioner of his choice. The police have only 28 days to arrest and detain anyone they
have reason to think is involved in security violations under the SOSMA 2012, as
opposed to the 60 days under the ISA 1960.
The SOSMA 2012 also authorises the police to collect information in breach of privacy
laws, allowing statements from dead or missing people to be admitted as evidence to
gain a conviction by lowering the burden of proof. This results in a court procedure that
falls short of the standards for a fair trial.
Section 30 of SOSMA explains about the detention pending exhaustion of legal process
which is not found in ISA 1960. Under this section “Public Prosecutor may make oral
application to the court for the accused to be remanded in prison pending a notice of
appeal to be filed against his acquittal by the Public Prosecutor.”
Another significant distinction between the SOSMA 2012 and the ISA 1960 is the part on
trial processes involving sensitive material. This consists of four important elements:
procedures relating to sensitive information, protected witnesses, informer protection,
and police access to detainees. This is stated in the Act's Part IV. Part IV of the SOSMA
2012 discusses procedures for dealing with sensitive material, as defined in section 3 of
the Act, that is to be disclosed and used as evidence in court by either the prosecution or
the accused, or sensitive information that develops during the trial. As previously
stated, a "protected witness" is someone whose exposure would risk the gathering of
evidence or intelligence, as well as his or her own life and well-being. Section 8 outlines
the procedures that the public prosecutor must follow when the case concerns sensitive
information. This section allows the public prosecutor to make an ex parte application
to the court to be exempted from the duty imposed by section 51 A of the Criminal
Procedure Code. In contrast, Section 9 requires the accused to provide the public
prosecutor and the court two days' notice in writing if he intends to divulge or
discontinue the revelation of sensitive material. The court is denied the right to order
the Public Prosecutor to submit a document containing sensitive information that arises
during the trial under section 11 (4) of the SOSMA 2012.
Conclusion
The government's responsibility to safeguard and secure public safety is primarily and
always on its shoulders, and one of the most significant transformations has been the
repeal of the ISA 1960 and the creation of its replacement, the SOSMA 2012. The SOSMA
2012 was enacted to ensure public safety.
Answer 2
To ensure its independence, the court has specific authorities. This is in the form of
contempt proceedings brought by the Attorney General. Article 126 of the Federal
Constitution also gives the Federal Court, a Court of Appeal, or a High Court the
authority to punish for contempt anybody who, by word or deed, interferes with the
administration of justice or undermines the courts' dignity or independence. Any
conduct that seeks to undermine or reject the authority and administration of the law,
or that interferes with or prejudices parties, litigants, or witnesses during the litigation.
- That which obstructs the proper administration of justice and pollutes the justice
stream i.e., comments on a pending case.
- That which is meant to bring a judge into contempt or lower his authority or to
interfere with the authorised process of the court.
Contempt can also be incurred by failing to obey a superior court's order, by behaving
inappropriately in court, or by making an aggressive or scurrilous attack on a judge,
known as ‘scandalising contempt.' Furthermore, Section 13 of the Courts of Judicature
Act 1964 and article 126 gives the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal, or a High Court
broad authority by stating that "the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal, or a High Court
shall have power to punish any contempt of itself." Punishment may continue until the
court determines that the offender has received adequate punishment, at which point
he is said to have 'purged his contempt.'
In this case, the LGBT supporters had interfered with the authorised process of the
court by attacking the judge with words before she had finished stating her complete
judgement. This leads to scandalising contempt. Even if the party does not want to
pursue a contempt motion, the public prosecutor must start a contempt proceeding. The
judge is given instant access to the case since it is committed in front of her in the face of
the court. For contempt committed in the presence of the court, Order 52 r. 1A
empowers the court to act on its own motion. The court must, however, ensure that the
alleged contemnor i.e., the LGBT supporters are aware of the nature of the charge
levelled against them and that he is given the opportunity to defend themselves. In
addition, the court must preserve a proper record of the proceedings. When the court
determines that contempt is clear, the putative contemnor is directed to appear in court
on the same day at the appointed hour to have their contempt removed. If the putative
contemnor has purged their contempt by making an unqualified apology to the court
and the contempt is not considered significant, they will be pardoned, and no further
action will be taken against them. The court will sentence the putative contemnor if they
refuse to purify their contempt.
For example, in the case of AG v Pang Cheng Lian, the Attorney General moves for
orders of committal against Pan Cheng Lian, Victor Santhanam and CR Dasaratha Raj
(Pte) Ltd for contempt of court by reason of the publication of an article entitled
‘Singapore – Selective Justice’ in November 1974 issue of International Edition of a
weekly news magazine called “Newsweek”. The claim that detractors have long accused
the country's courts of being nothing more than extensions of the one-party regime is
false. There has been no attempt to substantiate this grave charge levelled on the
independence and impartiality of the country's courts. The judge in this case cited Lord
Diplock's decision in Attorney General v Times Newspaper [1974] AC 273, which stated
that contempt of court is punishable because it undermines the confidence of not only
the parties to the litigation, but also the public as potential suitors, in the proper
administration of justice by the established court of law.

Answer 4
The Constitution provides an Election Commission that is independent of the
government to ensure that elections are conducted fairly. The members of the election
commission are chosen by the YDPA following consultation with the Rulers' Conference
and are made up of five people. In appointing them YDPA is constitutionally required to
have regard to the importance of securing a commission which enjoys public
confidence, which suggests that he may not appoint persons with political connection or
bias. At the age of 65, members of the Commission are eligible to retire. Commissioners
are protected by tenure and can only be dismissed through the same procedure as a
Supreme Court judge. After a commissioner has been appointed, his remuneration
terms cannot be changed to his detriment. The Commission is authorised by Article 113
and Article 114 to "conduct elections to the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat,
Parliament's lower house) and the Legislative Assemblies of the States." The
Commission has the authority to define constituencies, update the electoral roster of
registered voters, and oversee election procedures. Even though the Commission is not
mentioned in the Constitution as a body free from government or other interference,
constitutional scholars have usually assumed that the Constitution was written to
guarantee the Commission's independence.
Election process
The Malaysian General Election is divided into six stages, according to the Malaysian
Election Commission. It includes the dissolution, candidate nominations, election
campaigns, voting, vote counting, and results announcement.
After the dissolution of Parliament or a State Legislative Assembly, or in the event of a
casual vacancy, the Election Committee will issue a writ to the Returning Officer under
the Elections Act 1958. The elections can then be conducted by the returning officer. A
notice of election will be announced and placed for citizens to see in public locations.
Some information, such as the date of nomination and the date of voting, must be
included in the announcements. In the case of voting dates, there will be an advanced
voting date for people who are unable to vote on the scheduled date.
The Election Commission establishes nomination centres in several areas to allow
candidates to register. Unless they are disqualified, any Malaysian citizen can register as
a candidate. Candidates must complete the necessary paperwork and make a monetary
deposit. The deposit is put to good use.
The legal campaign period goes from the day of the nomination until the day of the
election. Lack of access to government-controlled media makes it difficult for opposition
parties to campaign. Opposition parties were given a brief amount of airtime on the
public Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) radio stations prior to the 1999 general
election to publish their manifestos. In 1999, however, the government declared a
policy shift, stating that because RTM is controlled by the government, government
parties would be given priority.
Registered voters may vote for their preferred candidate in a designated voting centre
on election day. Typically, these voting centres are schools or community centres that
have been reserved for that day. For that day, all activities at the school are halted. In
states where election day does not come on a weekend, holidays are also established to
encourage people to vote. Voters will be transported to and from the voting centre by
certain political parties. While campaigning is prohibited on election day, transportation
is viewed as a social service. Within a campaign, no candidate campaigning or advocacy
is permitted.
Elections are only open to registered voters. Before voting, Malaysian nationals aged 21
and up, resident in any election constituency, not disqualified by any law (article
119(1)) must register in the voters' registry with the Election Commission, which can
be done at any Election Commission offices, post offices with computerised facilities, or
specified counters. According to article 119(3), a disqualified voter would be one who
on qualifying date – unsound mind or serving jail term, before qualifying date –
convicted and sentenced to death or jail term more than 12 months and still liable on
qualifying date, guilty under Election Offences Act and has foreign citizenship. A
qualifying date is “the date on which a person APPLIES FOR REGISTRATION as an
elector in a constituency or the date on which he APPLIES FOR THE CHANGE of his
registration as an elector in a different constituency” according to article 119(4).
Each voter receives two paper ballots, one for the parliamentary seat of the
constituency and the other for the state assembly seat, once their identities are verified
at a voting centre. Each voter receives only one ballot for the parliamentary seat in
federal areas where there is no state assembly and states where the state election is
held on a different date. Each voter enters a separate booth to mark their ballots in
complete privacy. On each ballot, the voter selects the candidate of his or her choice.
After the polls have closed, election agents inspect the ballot boxes before opening and
counting them. They also keep an eye on the counting to make sure that the total
number of ballots cast matches the number of votes cast. This includes counting how
many "double votes" there are. Every ballot paper has a unique serial number, and they
are distributed in order. Agents may arrive to verify that the serial numbers are correct.
The ballots are counted one by one by hand. The boxes are carried to the counting
centre for a second count after a count at the voting centre. If all candidates agree to the
count, it stands; otherwise, the counting centre conducts an urgent re-count. The
election results are then released.
The EC's responsibilities include evaluating the boundaries of parliamentary and state
constituencies, holding by-elections, and conducting registration activities, in addition
to regulating elections. It also gathers data on newly created regions to ensure a fair
representation of voters in each district, raises voter awareness about the importance of
voting, and updates the electoral roll by removing the names of people who have died or
been disqualified. On election day, EC members and staff will be stationed at polling
stations across the country to monitor the process.
Answer 5