BETWEEN RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

So, do I have a solution to this problem? I’m afraid that other than lining up all the politicians against the wall and shooting them all dead I do not have the solution to this problem. And that is why I am not a politician.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

38(2)(c) The Conference of Rulers shall exercise its functions of consenting or withholding consent to any law and making or giving advice on any appointment which under this Constitution requires the consent of the Conference or is to be made by or after consultation with the Conference, and may deliberate on questions of national policy (for example changes in immigration policy) and any other matter that it thinks fit

38(4) No law directly affecting the privileges, position, honours or dignities of the Rulers shall be passed without the consent of the Conference of Rulers.

38(5) The Conference of Rulers shall be consulted before any change in policy affecting administrative action under Article 153 is made.

38(6)(d) The members of the Conference of Rulers may act in their discretion in any proceedings relating to the following functions, that is to say the agreeing or disagreeing to the extension of any religious acts, observances or ceremonies to the Federation as a whole.

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That is what the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says regarding the powers, authority and limits of the Conference of Rulers.

One important point to note here is that the Conference of Rulers needs to consent to any changes to the privileges, position, honours or dignities of the Rulers. Hence only the Rulers can remove their own powers.

The second point to note is that the Conference of Rulers can use its discretion as to what is and is not allowed in matters of religion. Hence it can, for example, decide whether the Allah word can or cannot be used by non-Muslims anywhere in Malaysia.

Third, the Conference of Rulers decides whether there shall be any changes to Article 153 of the Constitution. And this is what concerns most Malaysians, Malays and non-Malays alike, Article 153.

Many Malaysians interpret Article 153 as giving special rights to the Malays. That is not so. Article 153 merely protects the ‘special position’ of the Malays. It only allows the Conference of Rulers to decide on certain privileges that the Malays would enjoy in particular regarding quotas and this can change depending on changing situations.

Article 153 is about privileges and not about rights. And, this, many Malaysians do not appear to understand.

For example, you have a right to say what you like under your freedom of speech, expression and opinion (subject, of course, to certain clauses in the Sedition Act plus the laws of libel and slander — hence that right is not absolute or unlimited).

But you have no right to post that comment in Malaysia Today since I, and not you, own Malaysia Today. What you do have, though, is a privilege that I give you to post comments in Malaysia Today. And privileges are not rights. It is a gift that I give you. And I decide whether to give it to you or to not give it to you since that gift belongs to me and not to you.

So those of you who scream that I do not respect your freedom of speech by not allowing you to post comments in Malaysia Today need to go back to school to learn what the difference between right and privilege is.

Okay, now that you understand the difference between right and privilege, let us talk about the privileges (special position) that the Malays enjoy under Article 153 of the Constitution, and which is protected by the Conference of Rulers.

While Article 153 may just guarantee the Malays certain privileges and not rights, the Conference of Rulers decides what these privileges (such as quotas) are. The Conference of Rulers has power over this and the only way to remove this power would be to remove the Rulers.

And this would be the consideration in any debate between Monarchists and Republicans. By abolishing the Monarchy you will also be abolishing the power of the Rulers over Article 153. And that would mean the special position of the Malays would be removed as well.

Hence any discussion on this matter would be a non-starter as far as most Malays are concerned. If you are privileged and have a special position in the country how many people would agree that these be removed in favour of a level playing field and meritocracy? No doubt some people would but these people would be in the minority.

And the more we press this issue the more antagonised people who perceive that you want to take something away from them would become. But then how do we achieve racial harmony and national integration if one side feels that they are being placed at a disadvantage and the other side feels you want to rob them of their privileges (which many interpret as rights)?

This is where we need good political leaders who can understand that partisan politics will not make the situation better but will, in fact, make things worse.

And this is something Malaysia does not possess — political leaders who will not use partisan politics in their lust for power.

So, do I have a solution to this problem? I’m afraid that other than lining up all the politicians against the wall and shooting them all dead I do not have the solution to this problem. And that is why I am not a politician.