Sovereignty (Malay: kedaulatan) is the highest and most complete power held by a state. It is the authority to make and enforce laws over a defined territory and its people, free from the control of any outside power. A country that possesses this power is called a sovereign state.
Internal and external sovereignty
Scholars usually describe two dimensions of sovereignty. Internal sovereignty is the supreme authority of a government within its own borders — the power to make laws, collect taxes, maintain order and command loyalty from its citizens. External sovereignty is the right of a state to conduct its own affairs with other nations without interference, including signing treaties and joining international bodies such as the United Nations.
Key idea
Sovereignty = supreme power + independence. A state that answers to no higher authority at home and is free from foreign control abroad is truly sovereign.
Sovereignty in the Malay tradition
The idea of sovereignty is very old in the Malay world. From the time of the Malacca Sultanate, the Sultan was regarded as the holder of daulat — a sacred sovereign dignity that commanded the loyalty of the rakyat (people). Betraying the ruler was called derhaka. This early notion of daulat later blended with the modern legal concept of a sovereign nation-state.
When Malaya achieved independence on 31 August 1957, it regained full sovereignty after decades of British colonial rule. Sovereignty therefore is closely tied to independence: only a free nation can decide its own laws, leaders and future.
Remember
- Sovereignty = supreme power of a state over its land and people.
- Internal = authority within; external = independence from foreign control.
- Malay tradition expresses it through daulat and loyalty to the ruler.
- Malaya recovered its sovereignty at Merdeka on 31 August 1957.