a) Explain the sources of Malaysian legal system.

The Malaysian legal system can be divided into three main categories which are written law and unwritten law. Written law is when laws have been written a formal document which has been passed on between the people. Unwritten law are laws that not been been formally passed. They are made up on case laws. Case laws are laws created by the Supreme Court. Written law is further divided into the Federal Constitution, Legislation and Subsidiary Legislation. The Federal Constitution is the basic foundation for all the other laws. It helps federal and state government to exercise their powers and creates a democratic system of government. It also establishes a constitutional monarchy and entrenches fundamental liberties of the individual. To ensure that the Federal Constitution is not easily amended, a special majority of two-thirds of the total number of members of the legislature is required for an amendment. Legislation consists of laws passed by Parliament as well as the State Legislative Assemblies. Laws passed by Parliament are known as Enactments. Laws passed in Sabah and Sarawak are known as Ordinances. Subsidiary Legislation are the rules, regulations, by-laws, orders and other instruments made by a person or body according to powers passed on to him or them. Unwritten law are divided into four parts which are English Law, Judicial Precedent, Custom and Muslim Law. English law, also known as common law, is a very source of Malaysian laws. Sections 3(1) and 5(1) of the Civil Law Act 1956 give the author to use English law to reduce limitations present in written laws. However, the reception of English law and equity are subject to certain general exceptions. It can only applied with absence of local government in matter and suitable for local circumstances. Judicial Precedent refers to which were created during court cases in the Supreme Court. Lower

courts must follow these laws with similar cases. This generally ensures a fair and uniform application of the law. It is usually used to resolve issues such as employment, tax liability, social security and etc. This form of law making is the same concept used in Britain. Custom refer to customs of locals which have been accepted as laws. It is related to more social issues such as marriage, inheritance etc. It is not commonly used in Malaysian society today as more universal laws have been made. An example is the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, which declared polygamous marriages illegal. This created a reduction in Chinese and Indian customs. However adat laws and native customary still play an important role as a source of law. Muslim Law is the laws obeyed only by Muslim. It is only used in Syariah courts. It is particularly in matters relating to marriage, divorce and inheritance among Muslims.

b) Explain the functions and differences between legislation and delegated legislation. Legislation refers to law enacted by a body constituted for this purpose. They are legislated by the parliament and various state legislative assemblies. They are not the supreme laws. They create laws which obey conditions of Federal and State constitutions. Federal government enact laws on matter in List I. Examples of matters in List I as education, health labour social security and etc. State enacts laws on matters in List II. Examples of matters on List II are Land, Agriculture, local services and etc. Both federal and state discuss matters on List III. Examples of matters on List III are social welfare, scholarships, irrigation and etc. Delegated legislation is usually concerned with detailed changes to the law made under powers from an existing Act of Parliament. Statutory instruments form the majority of delegated legislation but it can also include Rules or Codes of Practice. It

discusses very difficult matters such as employment, social security, tax liability and economic management. It is difficult to include details in Acts of Parliament. Parent Act envoys to some executive authority power to authorize in this way. This is useful because Parliament cant spend too much time making decisions on every single industry or aspect of community. It also creates rapid change in countrys development. The withdrawal or amendment of laws is made easy. The differences between the legislation and delegated legislation is Legislation are laws made by legislature which are Parliament and state legislative assembly whereas subsidiary legislation are laws made by person or bodies under power conferred on them by Acts of the Parliament. Laws made in subsidiary legislation are usually called rules and regulations, order and notification. Legislation takes time in making decisions and making a new policy or law is a very tedious process. Delegated legislation allowed making quick decisions and passing a new policy faster. Delegated legislation able to cover all sectors discussing their issues as opposed to legislative. Subsidiary legislation is made up of smaller bodies whereas legislation is made up of state and federal level. Legislation is a fairer form of decision making as it takes the will of the people into consideration. When Subsidary legislative makes decisions, everyone is usually happy with decisions compared with legislation.

c)Examine the roles of civil society in Malaysia. Civil societies, also known as non-governmental organisations, are non-profit groups which are formed by volunteers in the social spheres. Their aims to influence decision

making in the government and international organizations. There a large organizations such as United Nations, world Vision and etc. Malaysian AIDS Foundation and ALL Womens Action Society ( AWAM) are examples of smaller civil societies. Civil societies have a few ideologies that they follow. They believe in equality irrespective of race, gender, sexuality and physical characteristics. They to make decisions, program plans, and strategies free from others' political goals or ideologies. They do not take sides in political or military struggles. They do show any form of violence to one another. They are responsible can consult local people.

There are four types of civil societies which are humanitarian, development, human rights and peace building. Humanitarian are responsible for short term relief to prevent death. An example of a humanitarian civil group is Befrienders. It initially started in London in 1953. Today it has 300 centres spread in 40 countries. The organisation is resourced by trained volunteers where they provide confidential conversations and give free counselling. They give awareness to physiological issues such as depression and suicide thoughts. Their vision is to have a world in which fewer people feel the need to end their own lives. Their mission is to alleviate distress and help reduce the risk of suicide through emotional support and public education. There are currently two befrienders in Malaysia. Human rights are responsible to make a supportive political environment. Pusat Rakyat Loyar Burok is a type of human rights civil group. It is also known as The Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights. Since March 2011, Loyar Burok s aim is to promote and protect human rights in Malaysia in accordance with international human rights

principle, treaties and laws. They have filed number of cases against court decisions to affect public interest policies such as gender equality, freedom of speech and etc. Undi Malaysia is one of their major projects where their aim is to give awareness to public about the importance of voting during elections and have an understanding on exercising this power. Layor Burok has an online blog where they update the public on current issues that government would not discuss in media such as newspapers. Development includes long term effort to improve quality of life in economic social and political sectors.World Vision, a large scaled development civil group, is World Vision is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice .World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. They helped in various projects including the recent typhoon in the Philippines. World Vision was founded by Reverend Pierce. In 1947 the reverend went on a trip to China to discover the major issues the world is facing such as poverty . Inspired by his experiences in China, he began building an organisation dedicated to helping the world's children, and in 1950 World Vision was born. The first child sponsorship programme began three years later in response to the needs of hundreds of thousands of orphans at the end of the Korean War.In the 1970s, they expanded to a broader community development model and established an emergency relief division. They also attempted to address the causes of poverty by focusing on community needs such as water, sanitation, education, health, leadership training and income generation. United Nations Foundation is an example of a peace building civil society. The United Nations is the one international organi-zation with the reach and vision capable of solving global problems. The United Nations Foundation links the UNs work with others around the world, mobilizing the energy and expertise of business and non-governmental

organizations to help the UN tackle issues including climate change, global health, peace and security, women's empowerment, poverty eradication, energy access, and U.S.-UN relations. The Malaysian Environmental NGO (MENGO) was formed under the DANIDA-supported programme for environmental assistance to Malaysia. (DANIDA is the Danish International Development Assistance). The Mengo coalition was formed in November 2001. The objective of the programme is to contribute to the strengthening of the MENGOs and facilitate their impact on the decision making at all levels in the Malaysian society. One of the main strategic aims of the programme is to support and facilitate a more effective interaction between MENGO and the Government of Malaysia on environmental policies. As part of our strategy in achieving the objectives outlined within the DANIDAsupported programme for MENGO, a MENGO Management Committee and a MENGO Support Unit (MSU), as its Secretariat were established. The MENGOs play a very important role in the country's path towards sustainable development. They intentions is to collaborate provide services to the Government, where appropriate, thereby complementing and supplementing the initiatives of the Government. They play a huge role creating an awareness in a society which keeps then out of their shells. They also provide their support to ordinary citizens, including those from the grassroots in defending their environmental rights. They also act as watchdogs in ensuring that the country genuinely embarks on a development model, which is environmentally sound and socially just. They promote international environmental agreements and conventions such as Agenda 21. The Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF) is an NGO set up to protect animals from various issues such as animal violence, loss of homes, hunger etc. Their aim is to promote a caring Malaysian society through creating awareness and a balanced approach to animal welfare for the wellbeing of animal and mankind. The idea was ignited 30 years ago by a young veterinarian's passion for better quality lifestyle for animals

and their owners, fuelled by continuous educational efforts, and endorsed by the Malaysian Government's machinery. The Foundation became a formal entity 20 years later on 15th November 1997, with the mission 'To promote a caring Malaysian society through creating awareness with a balanced approach to animal welfare for the wellbeing of animal and mankind.' This mission is supported by the tag line: LOVE ALL LIFE. They platy a role in creating an awareness and responsibility of malysians on animal welfare. They develop strategies and programme to promote animal welfare through the MNAWF Council (under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture), public agencies, institutions, private bodies and organisations. They collect and generate funds which are used to undertake animal welfare projects. Their intention is to make links with international bodies about animal welfare issues.

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Foundation, U. (2013). About the un foundation. Retrieved from http://www.unfoundation.org/