Federalism and Legal Unification in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia exhibits such a high degree of centralization that some scholars argue it may best be classified as a quasi-federation rather than a true federation. The Malaysian Constitution enumerates areas of federal and state legislative competency. Most important areas of law are reserved for federal legislation, though the states of Sabah and Sarwak retain some additional legislative authority due to special conditions on their entry into the Federation. All states may in some cases legislate concurrently with the federal government, but any state legislation that conflicts with federal law is invalid. The main area of law left to the states is Islamic (syariah) law, which relates primarily ..