SULTAN of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V has stepped down as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, according to a statement issued by the Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Wan Ahmad Dahlan Ab. Aziz yesterday.
On Jan 4, the New Straits Times front paged a report, “An unscheduled meeting” of rulers that may have discussed the king’s resignation.
The report talked about a royal assembly being held “…against a backdrop of mounting public speculation about the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”
Now it has come to pass, and in a very decorous manner as the sanctity of the royal institution would demand.
Sure there was speculation earlier, especially in the not so decorous world of the cyber space, but it has been put to bed with the speed with which many will say Malaysians are not accustomed to.
Neither protracted discussion nor prolonged delay was given space to allow speculation to take hold. We are thankful to Istana Negara for the speed with which the message was relayed to the people.
The rulers huddled together on three occasions. The media statement from Istana Negara yesterday caught this paper and other media by surprise. And we are glad it did.
Nothing beats resolution of an issue of national importance that is done with quiet propriety. It was decorum to the tee, we have to say.
The rulers have always endeavoured to preserve the sanctity of the royal institution. There were blips on rare occasions, but they were resolved as quickly as they appeared by the brother rulers.
Having had 15 kings with smooth succession is something that makes Malaysia stand tall among more than 190 nations in the world. Our rulers must be thanked for this.
Our nation may be new but our monarchy is much, much older. Other nations more developed have had a fair share of constitutional problems. A few of them were resolved not so much in the favour of their monarchs. Malaysia has been spared such unhappy results.
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We thank God for sparing this beloved nation of ours of such distress.
The nation is nevertheless overcome by surprise. Of the 14 kings Malaysia has had in the past, none had resigned his office. So the national bewilderment is understandable.
This paper makes a stand that the king is stepping down, not abdicating as some have put it. This must be put right. Malaysians, though, are not unused to surprises anyway.
Last year brought with it the greatest of surprise: on May 9 the Pakatan Harapan government swept to power to the befuddlement of close to 30 million Malaysians. The Pakatan Harapan party members, included.
This royal resignation, though first in the young history of this nation, will pass as the country moves forward with the management of its affairs.
The office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong will be handed over to the next qualified ruler. Malaysia will soon have a new king.
We will welcome him as we have done the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V.
God save the king.
– NST
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