page_title: Constitution of Malaysia
section_title: Constitutional Amendments
hierarchical_section_title: Constitution of Malaysia / Constitutional Amendments
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of the process for amending the Malaysian Constitution
context_page_description: The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore became part of the Federation. The Constitution establishes the Federation as a constitutional monarchy having the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of State whose roles are largely ceremonial. It provides for the establishment and the organisation of three main branches of the government: the bicameral legislative branch called the Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate; the executive branch led by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers; and the judicial branch headed by the Federal Court.
context_section_description: The Constitution itself provides by Articles 159 and 161E how it may be amended (it may be amended by federal law), and in brief there are four ways by which it may be amended:
  1. Some provisions may be amended only by a two-thirds absolute majority  in each House of Parliament but only if the Conference of Rulers consents. These include:
  Amendments pertaining to the powers of sultans and their respective states
  The status of Islam in the Federation
  The special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak
  The status of the Malay language as the official language
  2. Some provisions of special interest to East Malaysia, may be amended by a two-thirds absolute majority in each House of Parliament but only if the Governor of the East Malaysian state concurs. These include:
  Citizenship of persons born before Malaysia Day
  The constitution and jurisdiction of the High Court of Borneo
  The matters with respect to which the legislature of the state may or may not make laws, the executive authority of the state in those matters and financial arrangement between the Federal government and the state.
  Special treatment of natives of the state
  3. Subject to the exception described in item four below, all other provisions may be amended by a two-thirds absolute majority in each House of Parliament, and these amendments do not require the consent of anybody outside Parliament 
  4. Certain types of consequential amendments and amendments to three schedules may be made by a simple majority in Parliament.
caption: Diagram of Constitutional Amendments
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