SEMESTER 2018/19

Law and Society (LIA 1007)

Tutorial Questions

I: Why study Law and Society and what is Law?

1. In 2000 a UM law student, X complained online at the UM Student’s Chat Group that the
non-Malay student population at the law faculty were consistently found grouped together,
discussing issues and conversing in their native tongue, regardless of the people around them.
Students from East Malaysia were particularly targeted for the way they spoke. X wrote that
these students should “learn to be Malaysian”, “speak properly” and “go back to where they came
from”. The posting went viral. But because of the anonymity of X, no action could be taken on an
individual. However, the University is considering what action to take generally to ensure that
such issues do not arise in future.

a. From a legal perspective what are the issues?

Defamation (racist statement)

b. From a law and society perspective, what are the issues?

- Social integration
- Art 10 FC

2. Discuss the various functions of law.

Roscoe Pound attributed four major functions of law, namely

 (1) maintenance of law and order in society;
(2) to maintain status quo in society;
(3) to ensure maximum freedom of individuals; and
(4) to satisfy the basic needs of the people.
He treats law as a species of social engineering

3. In Malaysia given the various and diverse population, multiple cultures, differences of
attitudes, different historic struggles between groups, and different perspectives - How has the
law functioned and assisted in ensuring a harmonious, integrated society?

The existence of Federal Constitution where it is the supreme law of the land, and all rights are
clearly stated in FC to protect the law and rights of the society in Malaysia.
4. Is law dysfunctional? Are there any dysfunctional laws in Malaysia? Discuss

Freedom of speech being controlled. This is kind of unclear when it is been referred to Art 10 FC.
Malaysians are not allowed to criticize politicians like how Americans can.

5. Can dysfunctional laws be amended? And how far can dysfunctional laws be amended
before it destabilises a nation?

Yes, dysfunctional laws can be amended in the parliament. For example: mandatory death
penalty is currently under discussion to abolish but instead they might enforce a new or better law
to replace mandatory death penalty.
Talking about recent law amendment in Malaysia we can see the amendment for voting rights
which had changed to 18 years and above.