The Comparison of Malaysian and Indonesian Constitutions from a Historical Perspective in Human Resources Study

A country’s constitution has a major influence towards human resource (HR) management policies, both in the public and private sectors. This article discusses the comparison of the constitutions of Malaysia and Indonesia from a historical perspective and their impact on HR policies. The main focus of the analysis is how the differences in the history of the formation of the constitutions in the two countries in shaping the employment system, education, and labor protection. This study shows that the federal system of Malaysia with a strong influence from the English legal system produces HR policies that are different from Indonesia, which is adhered to form a system with influences from customary law and Continental Europe.