The Malay rulers: To be feared or respected?

Dr Syed Husin Ali says there is nothing wrong with having a monarch as long as he is just, kind, humane, God-fearing and intelligent and not selfish or wasteful. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Afiff Abdul Halim, November 10, 2013.Dr Syed Husin Ali has a few revolutionary ideas on how to turn the Malay rulers, who have faced a rash of criticism and venom over the past few years, into a respected institution of national and communal unity.

Not only would they be respected, says the Senator from Selangor, the monarchy could one day be looked upon as an impartial referee to the political rivalry that’s turning Malaysia into a boiler room of ethnic and religious tensions.

But for this to happen, says Syed Husin, a former sociology professor, the nine Malay rulers must be willing to give up some of the privileges that make them royals in the first place.

This is the kernel of his new book “The Malay Rulers: Regression or Reform?”

The slim 83-page work is an update to his earlier book written in Bahasa Malaysia slightly more than 20 years ago titled “Isu Raja dan Pindaan Perlembagaan” (The Royalty Issue and Constitutional Amendments).

Immune no more

The update is no coincidence. In December 1992, the Parliament during the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed administration, passed a constitutional amendment that was to have a huge effect on the power of the Malay rulers.

The amendment effectively stripped them of immunity from prosecution in a court of law – a privilege they once had and which till the early '90s, some of them abused.

A little more than 10 years before that, the Dewan Rakyat also amended the Constitution to take away the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to block new laws by not giving his consent to parliamentary bills.

It was during the heady days of what is called “the 1993 constitutional crisis” that Syed Husin penned the original book in order to understand what was going on and what effect it would have on society.

“I was even invited by Utusan Malaysia (which was already an Umno mouthpiece) to write several articles on the issue. My writings were seen as a way to strengthen the reasoning for introducing those amendments”, he said during a recent interview.

As he outlines in the book, although the 1993 amendment was sparked by several brutal beatings of ordinary citizens by members of the Johor royal family, the Barisan Nasional administration was unsure how it would be accepted by the people.

So it ran a media campaign through organs such as Utusan Malaysia and television stations which highlighted the excesses of the royals.

Besides the assault case of the Johor royal, cases of Sultans demanding choice logging concessions were also dredged up and publicised.

The argument then, as Dr Mahathir said during his speech to Parliament when tabling the amendment, was not “to remove the institution of Malay rulers, but to strengthen their position”.

Slightly 20 years later, that position has been questioned and criticised again as the Malay rulers get caught up in the seismic shifts that rocked society after the 2008 general election.

20 years later

Though they have had some of their powers clipped, the Malay rulers have leveraged the influence, power and position they have as heads of state to take advantage of the new power dynamics between BN and Pakatan Rakyat.

This is seen, Syed Husin said, in how the Rulers of Perak and Selangor have acted in ways which seem detrimental to their respective Pakatan governments.

“After 2008, when Umno lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament, they tried to get the support of the Malay rulers in their campaign against Pakatan.

“But they also had problems dealing with some of the royalty,” said Syed Husin.

The Rulers of Perlis and Terengganu had rejected the Menteri Besar's candidates from the BN Federal government when they were forming the state administrations.

This landscape of intense political feuding, Syed Husin said, has emboldened the Malay rulers as they realise that their support is coveted by the two political coalitions and their civil society supporters.

“The Malay rulers themselves have become instruments to solidify power.”

This has not gone down well with the public. While many have taken to Facebook and the internet to criticise the royals' behaviour and actions, others have been less civil.

Some of the Rulers have had crude caricatures of them posted on the web. Even worse are pictures, purportedly of their close relatives in compromising situations, being widely spread on Facebook.

A glance of Facebook users’ comments in Bahasa Malaysia on those postings show a Malay community that is increasingly less enthralled with the royalty and more intolerant of their excesses.

The BN administration’s response, especially to non-Umno critics of the royalty, has been to charge them under the Sedition Act. By Syed Husin’s count, at least five individuals, three of them Pakatan politicians, have been charged so far.

“Can you imagine a person who questions whether half a million ringgit would be better spent on buying a car licence plate or on helping the poor ends up being charged for sedition?,” asked Syed Husin.

Syed Husin argued that it is this bigger involvement with partisan politics and the use of the tools of government to silence their critics that is tarnishing the institution.

That kind of behaviour coupled with the continued insistence of a court language that is demeaning and the customs of sembah (to pay obeisance), have put the Malay rulers out of touch with a citizenry more aware of their democratic rights.

But what is encouraging Syed Husin said is that despite all this, there hasn’t been a movement to oust the Malay rulers or the monarchy.

Restoring respect

Which brings us to the original point of the book (pic, right), namely to start a national conversation on how to reconcile the customs of a centuries-old institution with the demands of a public who are accustomed to having power over their leaders.

“We do not want our Raja to be hated. We want them to be respected,” said Syed Husin.

To start with, he says, Rulers must be willing to accept constructive criticism just as the conduct of ministers and government officers are constantly scrutinised.

However, limits on such criticism should still be in place to prevent people from going overboard.

“If there is healthy criticism, then society will ensure that the Rulers behave fairly and justly. Instead of what we have now where the royalty is scandalised.”

Syed Husin points to England where there is intense scrutiny of the royal family. Yet they are wildly popular as seen in the huge crowds that turned up for the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

This should be followed by a change in behaviour and attitude where Rulers should change court language and customs or get rid of it altogether when interacting with the rakyat.

Again, Syed Husin quotes a foreign example such as the Norwegian and Swedish royals whose down-to-earth attitudes and simple lifestyles have endeared them to their people.

Just as critical, he argues, is that Rulers act and represent all Malaysians, irrespective of community or religion.

“This national symbol of unity gels with the aim of creating the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the first place. The Agong is supposed to by a symbol of both sovereignty and unity.”

Such changes are not that controversial. Politicians have learned that openness, humility and “the common touch” are crucial to maintain popularity and public respect.

“There is nothing wrong with having a monarch. As long as he is just, kind, humane, God-fearing, intelligent. Not selfish or wasteful.

“A Ruler who has these qualities could serve as a useful check and balance, especially in a political system that is beginning to show authoritarian tendencies, or worse still, is dictatorial, corrupt and wasteful."

In essence, there is no need for new laws, gaudy government campaigns or blustery NGOs to get Malaysians to “hormat Raja”.

The key to respect in the age of Facebook is something that all public officials have learned the hard way, said Syed Husin. That respect is earned through deeds and behaviour, not demanded through laws.