Malaysian legal history

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History of Malaysia
Prehistoric period Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2,000,0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial period Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative period BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo/Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Baling Talks 1955
Independence period Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Sarawak Insurgency 1962–1990 North Borneo self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989
Modern period 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Federal Territory of KL 1974 1977 Kelantan Emergency 1977 Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea dispute (Spratly) 1980–present Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Memali incident 1985 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989 Royal Immunity Amendments 1993 Asian financial crisis 1997–1998 Reformasi Movement 1998–2022 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009–2010 Sedition Dragnet 2014 1MDB scandal 2015–present Pakatan Harapan takeover 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022 Political crisis 2020–2022 Bornean Amendment 2021–2023 Green Wave 2022–present
Incidents Brunei revolt 1962–1966 North Borneo dispute (Philippine militant attacks) 1962–present Singapore race riots 1964 Brunei's Limbang claim 1967–2009 Penang Hartal riot 1967 13 May Incident 1969 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Kuala Lumpur flash floods 1971 Malaysian haze crisis 1972–present AIA building hostage crisis 1975 National Monument bombing 1975 Campbell Shopping Complex fire 1976 Sabah Air GAF Nomad crash 1976 Japan Airlines Flight 715 incident 1977 MH653 incident 1977 Dawn Raid 1981 1985 Lahad Datu ambush 1985 Memali Incident 1985 Sabah Emergency 1986 Ming Court Affair 1987 Penang terminal bridge collapse 1988 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire 1989 Bright Sparklers disaster 1991 Highland Towers collapse 1993 Genting landslide 1995 MH2133 incident 1995 Pos Dipang mudflow 1996 Tropical Storm Greg 1996 1998–1999 Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak 1998–1999 Al-Ma'unah incident 2000 Sauk Siege 2000 2001 Kampung Medan riots 2001 2002 Taman Hillview landslide 2002 Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 2006–2007 Southeast Asian floods 2006–2007 Bukit Gantang bus crash 2007 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide 2008 2009 swine flu pandemic in Malaysia 2009 Attacks against places of worship 2010 Cameron Highlands bus crash 2010 Hulu Langat landslide 2011 Genting Highlands bus crash 2013 MH370 incident 2014 MH17 incident 2014 2014–15 Malaysia floods 2014–2015 Sabah earthquake 2015 2015 Plaza Low Yat riot 2015 Movida Bar grenade attack 2016 Kim Jong-nam's Assassination 2017 Darul Quran madrasa fire 2017 2018 Subang Temple riot 2018 2020-21 Malaysia floods 2021 LRT train collision 2021 2021-22 Malaysia floods 2021–2022 2022 Batang Kali landslide 2022 2023 Elmina plane crash 2023 2024 Lumut helicopters crash 2024 2024 Ulu Tiram police station attack 2024
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Malaysian legal history has been determined by events spanning a period of some six hundred years. Of these, three major periods were largely responsible for shaping the current Malaysian system. The first was the founding of the Melaka Sultanate at the beginning of the 15th century; second was the spread of Islam in the indigenous culture; and finally, and perhaps the most significant in modern Malaysia, was British colonial rule which brought with it constitutional government and the common law system.

During the realm of the Sultanate, Melaka was an important trading port and the maintenance of law and order was crucial to its prosperity. The administration of justice was placed under the direct charge of the Bendahara (or chief minister) who exercised both political and judicial functions. The Temenggung (which is the commander of troops and police) was responsible for apprehending criminals, maintaining prisons and generally keeping the peace. The welfare of foreigners residing in the state was looked after by several Shahbandars (harbour masters and collectors of customs).

Little is known of the legal system in those days but it is generally accepted that the law administered then was a combination of Muslim law and the "Adat Temenggung" (patriarchal Malay customary law). The "Adat Temengung" was the law of the Sultan or the law ordained by the rulers and later adopted in the other regions of Peninsular Malaysia. It was the basis of the law as found in Malay legal digests compiled between the 15th and 19th centuries.

The formal legal text of traditional Melaka consisted of the Undang-Undang Melaka (Laws of Melaka), variously called the Hukum Kanun Melaka and Risalat Hukum Kanun, and the Undang-Undang Laut Melaka (the Maritime Laws of Melaka).^[1] The laws as written in the legal digests went through an evolutionary process. The legal rules that eventually evolved were shaped by three main influences, namely the early non-indigenous Hindu/Buddhist tradition, Islam and the indigenous "adat".

When Melaka fell into the hands of the Portuguese from 1511 to 1641 and the Dutch from 1641 till 1786, the local people continued to practise Islamic laws and Malay customs. It could be said that the Portuguese and the Dutch laws made relatively little impact on the legal system as a whole other than the political and administrative structures.

In 1786, Britain acquired the island of Penang, the first territory in Malaysia to fall into British hands. The main preoccupation of the British administrators during the first decades after the founding of Penang, was the maintenance of some form of order and to this end, local customs and law were allowed to continue but tempered by such portions of the English law as were considered just and expedient. Some judgements meted out may seem rather strange by today's standard but it should be borne in mind that they merely reflected the harsh and often chaotic conditions of those pioneering days. Complaints and petitions were made over many years for a better system of administering justice. Finally, it came in the form of the Royal Charter of Justice of 1807. The Charter is the most significant event in Malaysian legal history as it marked the beginning of the statutory introduction of English law into this country. The Charter established the Court of Judicature of the Prince of Wales' island (as Penang was then known) to exercise jurisdiction in all civil, criminal and ecclesiastical matters. It was interpreted by the courts as introducing to Penang the law of England as it stood in 1807 insofar as it was suitable to local conditions and circumstances.

When Penang, Singapore, which was founded by the British in 1819 along with Melaka, which fell to the British as a trade-off under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, formed the Straits Settlement in 1826, a new charter, the Charter of Justice was introduced. A new court called 'The Court of Judicature of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore and Melaka" was created by this Charter. Penang in a sense had a second statutory reception of English law although it was the first for Singapore and Melaka. In one stroke of the pen, the Straits Settlements received a large dose of English law.

Despite the new Charter, the administration of justice was far from satisfactory. A third Charter of Justice was granted in 1855 which enabled the reorganisation of the court system. In 1867, when the administration of the Straits Settlements from India was transferred to the Colonial Office, the court system was reorganised once again. By Ordinance 5 of 1868, the Court of Judicature of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore and Melaka was abolished. A new court known as the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements was established. In 1873, the Supreme Court was further reorganised under four judges – the Chief Justice, the Justice of Penang, the Senior Puisne Judge and the Junior Puisne Judge. The Court of Quarter Sessions was established as a criminal court and presided over by the Senior and Junior Puisne Judges in Singapore and Penang respectively. A Court of Appeal was also constituted. By then, the judiciary had slowly evolved into its modern form.

Few of the British Indian statutes were imported in the Federated Malay States through the British Residents, including the Penal Code, the Contract Ordinance, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Civil Procedure Code.^[2]: 222

English commercial law was formally introduced into the Straits Settlements by Section 6 of the Civil Law Ordinance, 1878. This provision, as re-enacted in the Civil Law Act, 1956 (Revised 1972), is still applicable in Penang and Melaka.

English land law was specifically excluded by sub-section 2. The whole section of this Ordinance was incorporated into the Civil Law Ordinance of 1909 and later re-enacted as Section 5 of the Civil Law Ordinance (Chap. 42 of the 1936 Revised Edition). This was the legal situation in the Straits Settlements until its dissolution in 1946 following the formation of the Malayan Union.

The statutory introduction of English law to the Federated Malay States comprising the states of Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan occurred in 1937 with the introduction of the Civil Law Enactment, 1937. The Unfederated Malay States, consisting the states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor, became part of the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and the Civil Law (Extension) Ordinance, 1951, extended the application of the Enactment to these states.

Law of Sarawak Ordinance 1928 established as statutory authority for introduction of English law into Sarawak, later substituted with the Application of Laws Ordinance 1949 for broader application. Civil Law Ordinance 1938 established as statutory authority for introduction of English law into North Borneo, later substituted with the Application of Laws Ordinance 1951 for broader application.^{[2]: 66–67, 161}

Both enactments were replaced by the Civil Law Ordinance, 1956, which applied to all eleven states of the Federation. When Malaysia was established in 1963, it became necessary to harmonise the law to take effect in Sabah and Sarawak. The 1956 Ordinance was then superseded by the Civil Law Act, 1956 (revised 1972) which came into force on 1 April 1972.

• Undang-Undang Melaka & Undang-Undang Laut. Editor Liaw Yock Fang. Kuala Lumpur: YAYASAN KARYAWAN, 2003 (ISBN 983-9510-06-1); 440 hlm.
• Liaw Yock Fang. Undang-Undang Melaka, a critical edition. Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1976.
• Undang-Undang Melaka. A Critical Edition, ed. by Liaw Yock Fang, Doctoral Thesis (Proefschrift) Leiden University, The Hague: De Nederlandsche Boek- en Steendrukkerij/ Verlagshuis S. L. Smits, 1976.
• Liaw Yock Fang, “The Undang-undang Melaka”, Melaka: The Transformation of a Malay Capital, c. 1400–1980, ed. by K. Singh Sandhu and P. Wheatley, Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1983, vol. 1, pp. 180–94.
• Liaw Yock Fang. Naskah Undang-Undang Melaka: Suatu Tinjauan. – "Sari" N 25. Bangi: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2007, p. 85–94.
• Winstedt, Richard O., “The Date of the Malacca Legal Codes”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1–2 (1953): 31–3.
• Winstedt, R.O. and P.E. de Josselin de Jong, “The Maritime Laws of Malacca. Edited, with an outline translation”, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 29.3 (1956).
• Ashgar Ali Ali Mohamed; Muhamad Hassan Ahmad, eds. (2023). Malaysian Legal System (3rd ed.). CLJ. ISBN 978-967-457-186-3. Wikidata Q123909383.
• Hasbollah Mat Saad (2018). A Brief History of Malaysia: Texts and Materials (2nd ed.). Pena Hijrah Resources. ISBN 978-967-5523-15-1. Wikidata Q123909819.

• Law of Malaysia