COMMENT I am constrained to respond to the comments made by the Chief Justice of the Federal Court at the recent ceremonial opening of the legal year that certainly merits debate and contemplation.

As the head of the judiciary, Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria rightly touched on matters pertaining to the Federal Constitution, the rule of law, human rights and the administration of justice in this country.

The fundamental freedoms provision in Part II of the Federal Constitution does not have its origins in any particular religious texts or from our Malay or Malayan norms and values pre-1957.