Senator moots reforms to palace language

Palace language needs to be reformed to reflect democracy, said senator and former PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali.

Speaking at the launch of his new book 'The Malay Rulers: Regression or Reform' in Petaling Jaya today, Syed Husin said palace language, in its current form, can condition the populace to degrade themselves.

He believed that the terms used in palace language had lead to a slave-mentality among the Malay community.

"At one time, the Sultan of Pahang did not use 'beta'. He used 'saya'. I thought that was a good start.

"In fact, there should be a common use of saya, instead of 'beta' and 'tuanku'," said Syed Husin, who taught sociology and anthropology at Universiti Malaya for about three decades.

The word 'beta' mean "I" or "me" but its use is confined to the monarchs, whereas 'tuanku' is used in a similar manner as 'your majesty' but literally means 'my master'.

Syed Husin argued that the use of the word 'tuanku' implies a master-slave relationship, and such language pervades throughout the palace language.

For example, he said the word 'patik', a first-person pronoun used when speaking to monarchs, literally means "dog", while 'menjunjung duli tuanku' (to obey a ruler) literally means carrying the ruler's feet on one's head.

"In other words, we degrade ourselves and we deprave ourselves. Psychologically and culturally, this has made the Malays so very loyal," he said.

AG's advisory role

The event was held at the Petaling Jaya Community Library and was officiated by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim before joining  Syed Husin, Nilai University chancellor Shamsul Bahrin and constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari at a forum.

In his keynote speech, Anwar said that Syed Husin’s book criticises feudalism and calls for a change of mindset, but stressed that it is not a call to abolish the monarchies.

"No one is calling for such a thing – even though we expect the spin doctors from the other side to be working overtime to twist and turn our words," he said.

During the question and answer session, he defended the Sultan when members of the floor raised questions about the rulers.

These include the swearing-in of ministers before they were first made into a member of parliament or senator as required by law, and suggestions that too many datukships have been awarded or even sold.

"The problem is systemic. To apportion the blame to the sultan, I do not believe it is quite right… It is systemic because the system is corrupt to the core.

"Who advises the sultan and the government? The attorney-general; one of the most incompetent attorney-general that you can find anywhere in the world,” he said.

He also said the public should maintain decorum when criticising the Malay Rulers because they are not able to respond to it publically.