- Reid Commission
The Reid Commission was an independent commission responsible for drafting the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya prior to Malayan independence from Britain on
31 August 1957 .History
A constitutional conference was held in
London from 18th January to 6th February 1956 attended by a delegation from theFederation of Malaya , consisting of four representatives of the Malay Rulers, the Chief Minister of the Federation (Tunku Abdul Rahman ) and three other ministers, and also by the British High Commissioner in Malaya and his advisers.The conference proposed the appointment of an independent commission to devise a constitution for a fully self-governing and independent
Federation of Malaya . This proposal was accepted by Her MajestyQueen Elizabeth II and the Malay Rulers.Accordingly, a commission headed by
Lord William Reid , a distinguished Lord of Appeal in ordinary, and consisting of constitutional experts from fellow Commonwealth countries was appointed by the Queen and the Malay Rulers. The commission was appropriately called the Reid Commission.Working Process
The Reid Commission met 118 times between June and October 1956, and received 131
memoranda from various individuals and organisations. The commission submitted its working draft on 21st February 1957, which was scrutinised by a Working Committee. The Working Committee consisted of four representatives from the Malay rulers, another four from the Alliance government, the British High Commissioner, the Chief Secretary, and the Attorney General.On the basis of their recommendations, the new Federal Constitution was passed by the
Federal Legislative Council onAugust 15 ,1957 , and the Constitution took effect onAugust 27 . [Jawan, Jayum A. (2003). "Malaysian Politics & Government", p. 43. Karisma Publications. ISBN 983-195-037-2.]However, formal independence was only achieved on August 31, and thus the Federation of Malaya became an independent sovereign country.
The constitutional machinery devised to bring the new constitution into force consisted of:
* In theUnited Kingdom , the Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957, together with the Orders in Council made under it.
* The Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 between the government of theUnited Kingdom and the government of theFederation of Malaya .
* In the Federation, the Federal Constitution Ordinance 1957 by the Parliament
* In each of the Malay states, state enactments approving and giving force of law to the federal constitution.Large-scale amendments to the Constitution were made when
Singapore ,Sabah andSarawak joined the Federation to formMalaysia in 1963. It became what is now known as theConstitution of Malaysia .Members of Reid Commission
*
Lord William Reid - Chairman
*Sir Ivor Jennings - Britain
*Sir William McKell - Australia
*Hakim B. Malik -India
*Hakim Abdul Hamid -Pakistan ee also
*
Cobbold Commission Notes and references
* Mohamed Suffian Hashim, An Introduction to the Constitution of Malaysia, second edition, Kuala Lumpur: Government Printers, 1976.
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