COMMENT | Let it be said at the outset that disagreement over the correct interpretation of the law is lauded, even encouraged, in a democratic society.

However, such disagreement must be well-reasoned, even-handed and made in good faith. It is unfortunate that former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad’s recent article fails and falters on all fronts.

Hamid’s central claim is that the Basic Structure Doctrine (BSD) is a foreign doctrine, adopted wholesale from the Indians, with no link whatsoever to the Malaysian Constitution. This is a grave error.

It has to be said that, contrary to his assertion, Malaysia did not import the doctrine from either India or Germany or elsewhere.

This is because our Federal Constitution had encapsulated this doctrine in Article 4 (1), which unequivocally states: “This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day that is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

One may well ask: What exactly is the BSD in a Constitution? In a nutshell...