Understanding the nuances in royal address

I grew up near a Chinese new village in Ayer Tawar, Perak in the 1980s and often frequent there due to my father's work. I'd say that I am more familiar with the Chinese psyche than most of fellow my non-Malays.

And the one thing I notice that continue to elude the non-Malays, including the Chinese to this day, is the concept of derhaka and daulat in the Malay psyche. The former is often translated as "betrayal" or "treachery" but these English terms don't even begin to encapsulate the spirit behind the ignominy of breaking the social norm.

Daulat can mean "sovereignty" and Daulat Tuanku carries with it the notion of the supremacy of the sovereign.

These are fundamental principles that have been ingrained into the Malay psyche, even among the more liberal-minded ones. In school, our kids know from the Rukunegara that loyalty to king and country comes after belief in God (note that "king" comes before "country", that is, Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara).

It is with this in mind that we have to look at the Royal Address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during the opening of the Parliament today. In subtle yet clear fashion, he had admonished those who had attempted to "create another political crisis".

And in a departure from convention, His Majesty had to set the record straight on the background that led to the swearing-in of the current prime minister. This is despite him having been empowered under the Federal Constitution to act the way he had. There was no need for a person at the apex of our political structure to explain his actions.

Put in another way, our king, a man with an impeccable pedigree, including an overseas education, has unnecessarily been put on a defensive by those seeking to politicise the royal institution.

Such action to assail our revered institution is unnecessary, unbecoming and I would say, even treacherous. Hardly, if any, Malay would want to be seen as being openly against our sultans and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who are constitutionally defenders of Islam.

Unless one is a Malay, it may be very difficult for one to fathom the depths of our reverence to the royalty. And when the royalty has decreed that we should all stay away from politics during this Covid-19 pandemic and accept his choice of PM, made based on constitutional provisions, we tend to toe the line.

The royal message is crystal-clear. When it comes to choosing between royalty and politics, it's a no-brainer decision. Those who choose to ignore this do it at their own peril.

Daulat Tuanku!

- Mkini