The depth of the grievances and misgivings about the Royals is troubling. Perak, Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Perlis are respected as being responsible and reasonable. I would rather not make any comments about the others. Our Rulers today tend to get too involved in business and our politicians have drawn them into that for it serves their purpose to have the Rulers beholden to them.
You need only to think about the mind boggling figures in Najib's cases and the mouth watering wealth of cash, jewellery and other trappings of wealth found in his and Rosmah’s possession. All this have not escaped the attention of the Rulers. Today, some of the Royals do understand how lucrative any alignment could be with the powers that be!
A case in point…Muhyiddin would not have even gone past the gates at Putrajaya had he not have a King who was complicit in his ill timed and unsuccessful grab at political greatness. And his continued stay in that seat after his “used by date”, by the declaration of the EMERGENCY was courtesy of the same YDPA. For all that, the YDPA has been amply compensated.
Johor, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Perlis and Perak are selective about who gets datoships but the MBs are careless about this. It is a mixed and malignant situation and the Rulers have to be careful because as it gets toxic the Malays may revolt. That day may become inevitable when we have to0 many Agongs like the present one! A YDPA driven by considerations that has nothing to do with the well being and comfort of his subjects and has all to do with his own personal greed.
How the monarchs are perceived by Malaysians will depend on how they perform their role as constitutional rulers. If they scrupulously stay within their constitutional powers and serve as a source of wise and sober counsel, and show exemplary behaviour that makes the rakyat proud, then of course they would be revered by the rakyat.
If for financial gain they overstep their constitutional limits, seek and flaunt wealth, or behaved scandalously, then surely they will lose support and respect, even among the Malays.
There has never been a Malaysian anti-monarchist revolution of any sort in the past, nor, I think, will there be one in the future. Yet Indonesia got rid of their Royals and India their Maharajahs, and maybe, if the Communist insurgency had succeeded in Malaya, the Sultans might, by now be history. But let us not dwell too much on what might have been.
The realities today is simply this : We have nine Malay rulers driving flashy cars and having huge palaces, but in truth, they are all, ultimately, under the thumb of the federal government. There may be some honourable Royals around but someone who rules with no fear of reelection can do what they like….kan?
The King is the symbolic head of the Constitution, symbolic head of the Army, Armed Forces and the Police. These royals are also symbols of a long gone era, a symbol of Islam and Malay traditions, Malay rights and supremacy. Who needs symbols in the age that we are now living in? Certainly not me!
Malaysia has witnessed much political infighting. Corruption and arrogance of the Malay political vultures are at its zenith. The King and the other Royals can be the stabilising factor amidst all this. The King should decide on matters not in the interest of the politicians but for the people. We certainly do not want ultimate power to rest in the hands of the Perdana Menteri! In Malaysia today, there is no clear separation of powers between the judiciary, executive, enforcement and the legislative branches. A just, fair and responsible King with the support of his brother Rulers can, together, provide the check and balances we so desperately need to bring some semblance of law and order in Putrajaya and surrounding areas.
And if our King and the other Royals are up to it, they can seize the moment and be the check that will tip the balance to make these politicians do good rather than evil. The question we need to ask is simply this : Are the Royals up to doing this?
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