Johor State Constitution

The Johor State Constitution (Malay: Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Johor) is the state constitution of Johor, promulgated on 14 April 1895 by Sultan Abu Bakar. The contents of the constitution covers:

• The procedures for the selection and coronation of the Sultan of Johor, as well as the succession procedures
• The laws and responsibilities of the State Assembly, Executive Council (Exco) and their members
• Rules regarding Islam as the official religion of Johor
• The development of the basics of legal punishments by justice courts
• International deals

Since 1895, the Johor State Constitution was revised 4 times:

• First Revision (1 April 1908)
• Second Revision (17 September 1912)
• Third Revision (12 May 1914)
• Fourth Revision (17 July 1918)

Role in Malay nationalism

The Johor State Constitution was the first written constitution among the Malay states. The Johor State Constitution played a major role for the Malays during their opposition to the formation of the Malayan Union. The key factors of their protest was that all the sultans of Malay states would lose their power as the rulers of their respective states, and the way Sir Harold MacMichael threatened the sultans for their signatures.

Sultan Ibrahim of Johor was encouraged by MacMichael to sign on the treaty, sparking anger among Malays, claiming that signing the Malayan Union treaty violated the Johor State Constitution which disallowed the Sultan of Johor from performing actions that might threaten the sovereignty of Johor. As a response to the protest, he hosted the UMNO's first general assembly at his palace in Johor Bahru in May 1946. He also joined the boycott of the installation of the Malayan Union's first governor.

Due to the success of the Malayan Union protest, rulers of other Malay states began using Johor State Constitution as a model for their own constitutions in order to protect the sovereignty of Malay states.

References

1. Haji Buyung Adil, "Sejarah Johor", Kuala Lumpur, DBP, 1971 p. 261.
2. Fauzi Basri and Hasrom Haron. "Sejarah Johor- Moden 1855-1940: Satu Perbincangan dari Pelbagai Aspek", Kuala Lumpur. Jabatan Muzium Semenanjung Malaysia, 1978, p. 229.
3. Ibid, p. 251
4. Ibid, p. 254

External links

• Official website of the government of Johor
• Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah: Pemasyhuran Undang-undang Tubuh Kerajaan Johor Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine