NILAI: A two-day conference will be held on federalism to encourage further understanding and discourse, and to enable the present generation of Malaysians to appreciate the vision of the country’s founding fathers and the relevance of federalism in the present-day environment.
Titled ‘Federalism in Malaysia: Redefining the Federal State Relationship in Malaysia’, the conference will be held on July 1 and 2 at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia here.
“The dynamics of Federalism must also accommodate and respond to the aspirations of the states whilst preserving democratic ideals and national unity,” said S. Saravana Kumar, who is the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Conference and a partner with the law firm, Lee, Hishammuddin, Allen & Gledhill.
“There must be balance in order to ensure that the states have appropriate financial resources and independence to fulfil their obligations especially in relation to the matters under the State List.
“There must be a constitutional mechanism to guarantee states a fair allocation of finance to enable the states to manage the matters under the state autonomy.”
Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, and Tunku Ampuan Besar Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Aishah Rohani Almarhum Tengku Besar Mahmud will grace the occasion.
Tuanku Muhriz, will officiate the opening of the conference and deliver the Royal Keynote Address. Tunku Besar Seri Menanti, Tunku Ali Redhauddin Ibni Tuanku Muhriz will officiate the closing ceremony and deliver the Special Address.
Distinguished guests including Chief Justice and Sri Richard Melanjum, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, Minister for Entrepreneur Development Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof, deputy ministers, judges and MPs will also attend the conference.
The conference features and draws inspiration from the experience of many prominent personalities. Among others, the key speakers at this conference are Tunku Zain Al-Abidin (Founding President of IDEAS), Datuk Seri Hishamudin Yunus (retired Judge of the Court of Appeal), Prof Datuk Dr Shad Faruqi, Prof Dr Terence Gomez, Charles Santiago (Chairman of SPAN), Bunn Nagara (ISIS), Justice Datuk Vazeer Alam and Justice Datuk Azizah Nawawi.
