Raja Permaisuri Agong is royalty extraordinaire

Five years ago I spoke about the importance for all of us to accept each other as fellow citizens of the country we love, regardless of our race or religion.

I feel the same now - we are all Malaysians and each one of us has the right to call Malaysia home.

Much has been written about our new Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. Much less has been written or is known about his consort and our new queen, Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah.

With the dawning of the Chinese New Year, which predicts a good one ahead for the dragon representing authority, prosperity and good fortune, all Malaysians should take some comfort from the key balancing role that royalty plays in our society and political life.

Some 14 years ago readers of main newspapers and the small social media audience we had at the time, may not have noticed the news report of a speech by Raja Zarith Sofiah, the consort of the Johor sultan, that was buried in the inner pages.

The occasion of the speech was a conference, which I attended, on “Voices of Peace, Conscience and Reason” held on Nov 16, 2010 in Kuala Lumpur.

The prime mover of the meeting was PCORE, a citizen’s group. This small NGO was active in sharing its peace paradigm as a way to achieve unity and integration in the country.

Following that meeting, I wrote that credit must go to PCORE for bringing together a diverse mix of young and older people from different backgrounds to voice their frank concerns on current issues and developments in the country.

I also noted that: “For me, the real star of the conference was Raja Zarith Sofiah.”

Common identity, humanity

In her keynote address to the meeting, she described the use of “pendatang” to describe non-bumiputera as “hurtful and ignorant”, and explained that more discussions were needed to address and resolve the gulf between ethnic and religious communities.

“Rather than simplify and shy away from sensitive issues, we should fight destructive rhetoric with constructive dialogue. It is shameful when apparently educated and mature individuals use such terms or suggest fellow Malaysians go back to where they came from,” she had said.

Describing her ancestral background as a mix of Sumatran and Peranakan Chinese, she said it was important to recognise the diversity of Malaysian society, brought about by centuries of interracial and interfaith marriages and communication.

This open acknowledgement of her mixed ancestral background during a public event is not only unprecedented but puts to shame the way some leaders with a similarly mixed ancestry either try to hide or suppress what they perceive as an inconvenient truth.

Or they engage in flaunting or agitating a mono-ethnic or religious stance as if this has been part of their, and the country’s DNA, from time immemorial.

Accomplishments

Raja Zarith Sofiah’s speech was much more than reported in the newspapers. It also covered her personal experience and thinking on religions and the importance of Muslims learning about other cultures and religions and their heritage.

She spoke from the heart, simply and without the need for any convoluted intellectual argument or high sounding clichés to drive home the importance of cherishing and protecting the Malaysia that belongs to all of us - high or lowly born; brown, yellow, black or white; and worshipping one, many or no gods.

Readers may not be aware of the wide-ranging accomplishments and interests of Raja Zarith Sofiah.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degree from Oxford University (her BA is in Chinese Studies).

Besides Malay and English, she can communicate in Mandarin, Italian and French. She is a patron of the arts, an artist and an author who has written children’s books including “Puteri Gunung Ledang”, and published a compilation of her newspaper columns in a volume titled, “On Common Ground”.

Sleepless nights

Although I am a republican at heart, logic and common sense tell me that we need the type of monarchy she personifies to hold the country together and to remind us of our common humanity.

With her and other royalty who care for the country in the way she does, there is greater hope that the nation can overcome the racial and religious demons and fantasies that torment many Malaysians.

During the lunch chit-chat on topics ranging from how the handphone and Skype have transformed our lives to the inconvenience of sleep apnea, our group learned that she had sleepless nights thinking about the predicament of our country and our people, and wondering how best she can be of service.

The insomnia that troubles her also afflicts loyal and patriotic Malaysians concerned about the future of the country.

In one of her posts on the Royal Johor Facebook titled “Love knows no colour” just after her 60th birthday, Raja Zarith Sofiah shares her love for her Chinese maternal grandmother.

She also reminds: “Children are actually - if left to their own pure and innocent thoughts, and their own understanding of the world - oblivious about racial differences. It is us - as parents - who consciously, or unconsciously, make them aware of these differences.”

This is good advice for the millions of young and adult Malaysians who have been exposed to the daily concoction of racial and religious differences made more destructive by the local peddlers of racial and religious bigotry abetted by foreign counterparts.

But it is not too late for the leaders of our nation - especially political and religious - to pull us back with principled and strong action - from the brink of a failed state which many Malaysians see as looming just ahead should the fires of racial and religious bigotry and hatred not be doused. - Mkini

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LIM TECK GHEE is a former senior official with the United Nations and World Bank.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.