Criticism
The case has been criticised by legal scholars, who have argued that it effectively gave the government free rein to pass unconstitutional laws. One part of Raja Azlan Shah's judgement, which stated that "the individual has certain fundamental rights upon which not even the power of the State may encroach" was subjected to criticism for "hardly (holding) substance" in light of certain legislation, such as the RRE and the Internal Security Act (ISA), that allegedly encroach on human rights. This part of the judgement in Loh has been described as "no more than judicial rhetoric".
Legal scholars have suggested that the decision in Loh made Article 4(1) insufficient with regard to ensuring the constitutionality of laws passed by Parliament, as:
| “ | Instead of bringing the impugned legislation, i.e. the RRE, into accord with the constitution it was the Constitution that was brought into accord with the impugned legislation. It is inevitable to conclude that after the decision in Loh Kooi Choon the RRE was accorded a supreme position over the Constitution in regard to arbitrary arrest and restriction of movement just because the authorities forgot to apply Article 5(4) in the course of arresting and detaining a subject. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Loh Kooi Choon V. Government Of Malaysia
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