“The rule of law means literally what it says: the rule of the law. Taken in its broadest sense, this means that people should obey the law and be ruled by it.

“But in political and legal theory, it has come to be read in a narrow sense that the government shall be ruled by the law and be subject to it. The ideal of the rule of law in this sense is often expressed by the phrase ‘government by law and not by men’.

“Let me mention the independence of the judiciary very briefly, lest we forget its significance. The existence of courts and judges in every ordered society proves nothing: it is their quality, their independence, and their powers which matter…

“The rules concerning the independence of the judiciary are designed to guarantee that they will be free from extraneous pressures and independent of all authority save that of the law. They are, therefore, essential for the preservation of the rule of law.” - Sultan Azlan Shah, 1984.

COMMENT | In August 1957, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation, comprising 11 states.

Its foundational document was a written Constitution, meticulously drafted by the Reid Commission and agreed upon by the British government, the nine hereditary rulers, and leaders representing the major ethnic groups in the country.