The Constituition
Old Crest
New Crest“It shall be a deliberate and conscious policy of the Government of Singapore at all times to recognize the special position of the Malays who are the indigenous people of the island and who are most in need of assistance and accordingly, it shall be the responsibility of the Government of Singapore to protect, support, foster and promote their political, educational, religious, economic, social and cultural interests, and the Malay language.”
It makes one think doesn’t it?
But really, how many of us do really know what the Constituition is about? We’ve heard it often enough. We say it often enough, but those are just words. Does the Constituition hold any particular meaning to any of us?
First of all, what exactly is the Constituition?
Well let’s see…! The word itself is derived from the Latin Contituere which means ‘to stand together’ and or ‘to establish’. I think.
The Constituition is used to refer all the basic rules or laws concerning the government and legislation or legal structure of a country. In other words, the Constituition is the supreme law of the country. It is a law superior to any other laws in a country as it makes up the basic legal foundation of any society.
So why do we need constituitions?
Whenever a society forms, laws become necessary. Laws are used to regulate the conditions and movement within the society; to achieve a degree of harmony and peaceful living. Thus, through the natural selection process of time, the strong and fit become leaders of the society. These includes Kings, Emperors, Sultans, etc.
Of course, we’ve read and learnt about cruel rulers who were corrupted and made the people suffer.These rulers had absolute power over the land and since they made laws, presumably, they were above it. This condition gives society a reason to place a fairer rule...a government, on a more democractic term.
However, government does not materialize in a vacuum. In big countries, the government is large and so does its powers. So vast these powers of…coercion that, people may fear living under tyranny. Under conditions like these is where we remember Lord Acton’s often-cited axiom: absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The idea of Constituitionalism can be traced from ancient Greece and into the American Revolution. There are 2 factors influencing this…idea. One was the natural law that acknowledges a law higher than man-made law. The other was the Christian doctrine of personality which emphasised an individual’s worth as an intrisic value in itself (Kevin Y.L. Tan).
Our Constituition spells out the basic structure of the State and establishes the various branches of the government which are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. It also guarantees the fundamental rights or liberties of its people.
It makes one think doesn’t it?
But really, how many of us do really know what the Constituition is about? We’ve heard it often enough. We say it often enough, but those are just words. Does the Constituition hold any particular meaning to any of us?
First of all, what exactly is the Constituition?
Well let’s see…! The word itself is derived from the Latin Contituere which means ‘to stand together’ and or ‘to establish’. I think.
The Constituition is used to refer all the basic rules or laws concerning the government and legislation or legal structure of a country. In other words, the Constituition is the supreme law of the country. It is a law superior to any other laws in a country as it makes up the basic legal foundation of any society.
So why do we need constituitions?
Whenever a society forms, laws become necessary. Laws are used to regulate the conditions and movement within the society; to achieve a degree of harmony and peaceful living. Thus, through the natural selection process of time, the strong and fit become leaders of the society. These includes Kings, Emperors, Sultans, etc.
Of course, we’ve read and learnt about cruel rulers who were corrupted and made the people suffer.These rulers had absolute power over the land and since they made laws, presumably, they were above it. This condition gives society a reason to place a fairer rule...a government, on a more democractic term.
However, government does not materialize in a vacuum. In big countries, the government is large and so does its powers. So vast these powers of…coercion that, people may fear living under tyranny. Under conditions like these is where we remember Lord Acton’s often-cited axiom: absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The idea of Constituitionalism can be traced from ancient Greece and into the American Revolution. There are 2 factors influencing this…idea. One was the natural law that acknowledges a law higher than man-made law. The other was the Christian doctrine of personality which emphasised an individual’s worth as an intrisic value in itself (Kevin Y.L. Tan).
Our Constituition spells out the basic structure of the State and establishes the various branches of the government which are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. It also guarantees the fundamental rights or liberties of its people.
It took me 3 dictionaries and a lot of back reading to understand this…it does make one think doesn’t it…!?
<< Home