Dakwah Council man moots advisory body for Agong, Council of Rulers

A structural management body should be established as advisor to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Council of Rulers, comprising experts in Islamic religious and current socio-economic affairs.

The proposal was made by the chairman of the panel of consultants for ummah unity, National Dakwah Council Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, as currently there is no specific advisory body for both the institutions that are the backbone of the country.

"There should be a body that can advise the Rulers so that they can fully exercise their powers," he said at a dialogue session in conjunction with the ‘Strengthening National Pillar: Towards A More Tangible Will' Convention in Putrajaya today.

At the state level, Abdul Aziz said the religious council’s function which now focuses only on religion should also be divided into two, namely the religious affairs and socio-economic affairs of the Muslims.

He said based on his study, the role of the ruler as the state’s Islamic religious leader should also be divided into two and not focus on religion alone.

Meanwhile, in a proceedings paper titled ‘Malaysian Constitution: Role and Jurisdiction of the Rulers’ (Perlembagaan Malaysia: Peranan dan Bidang Kuasa Raja-raja), he said the power and highest roles held by the Rulers as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and states as well as the national legislation, is not understood by the people.

“As there are not many activities portraying the Rulers or situations in which they wield their powers, the people have no chance to observe or be concerned about this,” he said.

Hence, Abdul Aziz said the situation needs to be changed decisively and immediately to restore the glory and desires of the Rulers to perfection as the country had achieved independence for nearly 60 years.

- Bernama