Era of a new breed of royalty

By SUHAINI AZNAM

(THE STAR - SUNDAY MAY 4, 2008)

Not content to be silent figureheads, today’s royals in Malaysia, as in other countries, have assumed new roles and placed themselves above partisan politics.

WHEN the King opened Parliament on April 28, he reminded Members of Parliament to make national unity their priority.

Unity – either national or Malay – seems to have been very much the theme of royal speeches in the past few months, perhaps because events leading up to the March 8 election were painted as being racially or religiously divisive.

Later, after the results showed that people had not voted along racial lines, some of the more hard-line Malays felt “challenged” by Government concessions to the non-Malays, such as the recruitment of more non-Malay civil servants, culminating most recently in the surprise apology from Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein over the brandishing of the keris at the party assembly in 2005 and 2006.

It was in that atmosphere that Tengku Mahkota Kelantan Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra spoke up for Malay unity and rights at a forum entitled “Malay unity is the core of national unity”, organised by the newly formed Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu (Malay Unity Action Front) to mark the Maulidur Rasul celebrations in Kuala Lumpur on April 12.

In urging Malays to stand united, Tengku Muhammad Faris said that the position of Malays should not be questioned.

“In fact, if Malay rights and special privileges are taken care of and are not disturbed, it would ensure national harmony,” he said.

“It does not just benefit the Malays but all ethnic groups.”

But his speech was reported out of context, giving an impression of meddling in politics, and the heir to the Kelantan throne apparently later regretted delivering his speech, which by then had been twisted and much manipulated. His remarks about non-Malay rights to practise their religion in peace and the weaknesses of the Malays who should emulate the non-Malays more, were left out.

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting criticised the speech and DAP chairman Karpal Singh lodged two police reports. Things got so out of hand that a 19-year old issued a death threat against Karpal Singh, which the youth later apologised for but not before the lawyer had filed yet another police report.

On April 30, the Kelantan palace put a stop to the debate. A palace official asked politicians and the media to stop harping on the issue, as “it was not the Tengku Mahkota’s intention, by his speech, to create controversy”.

“He would like to stress that unity among his subjects, regardless of their race, is his major commitment,” said Royal Household Controller Datuk Halim Ahmad.

In the spirit of Tengku Faris’ speech, exactly a week later (April 19) Raja Muda Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah too spoke on the need for Malay unity, calling it a stabilising force that would enhance national unity. Non-Malays should not feel threatened by calls for greater unity among Malays, as this was the foundation upon which Malaysians had forged the Barisan Nasional in 1974, he said in his pledge of loyalty in conjunction with the Sultan of Perak Raja Azlan Shah’s birthday in Kuala Kangsar.

Among the young royals, two in particular have rebranded and reinvented themselves, to use today’s parlance. Raja Nazrin has emerged as an authority on good governance and the rule of law.

Thus at the annual Conference of Malaysian Judges on April 9, he strongly advocated “a judicial renaissance” where “judicial power is revested in the judiciary”. The Government was already heading towards judicial reform but support from the heir to the Perak throne, lent it weight.

Raja Nazrin’s good friend, Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has taken a more populist route, for instance limiting the number of birthday honours each year so as to retain their prestige and lustre.

The decision was prompted by a clutch of “datuks” who, by their conduct, had brought disrepute to the title, and by extension the authority bestowing the awards. So while the Selangor constitution allows for 40 datukships per year, the Sultan has insisted on even fewer and only after careful vetting.

This was the same Sultan who had said in an interview: “Although I am the Head of Islam in Selangor, I am also the Head of State. All the people of Selangor are my subjects and I have a responsibility towards them.” He invites the public to send in their complaints via email or fax to his secretary.

By throwing open their palace doors and coming to the rakyat, the sultans have taken gigantic leaps from the stereotypes of the Hang Jebat era. Those sultans of old were laws unto themselves.

After Independence, they became constitutional monarchs, which they continue to be, except that today’s sultans – younger and better educated – are not content to be silent figureheads.

Speaking on the role of the monarchy at a Khazanah National Development Seminar to celebrate the country’s 50th Merdeka anniversary, Raja Nazrin had noted that contrary to popular perception, “the Malaysian monarchy is not all form and no function”.

Meanwhile, two brothers of reigning sultans have gone directly to the people by joining active politics. Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail’s younger brother, Datuk Seri Syed Razlan, the former MP for Arau, is today the state assemblyman for Pauh and serves on the Perlis executive council.

From the Pahang royal house, unfazed by his princely upbringing, Tengku Datuk Seri Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar, took his oath of office as the MP for Jerantut on April 28, using precisely that name. He was deputy transport minister in the previous Cabinet but declined the offered post of deputy minister of foreign affairs.

But the best-known royal to have entered politics is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah – who is also Tengku Muhammad Faris’ granduncle – who cut his teeth in politics in the late 1970s, holding several important portfolios, including finance.

He also challenged Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad for the Umno presidency, lost narrowly, and went on to found Semangat 46 when Umno was temporarily deregistered.

Razaleigh dominated national politics for decades, and remains a dominant force in the Kelantan political landscape, having retained his Gua Musang seat since 1974 (known as Ulu Kelantan then), irrespective of the changing fortunes of the state government.

In the tumultuous weeks immediately following the March 8 election results, three states posed varying problems with the choice of state chief executive. Appointments of mentris besar are within the purview of the respective sultans according to the respective state constitutions.

In Perlis, outgoing four-term MB Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim very much wanted a fifth term in office. Shaken by the Opposition sweep in the north, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had agreed to it.

But the Raja of Perlis wanted to confirm that Shahidan still held the confidence of the majority of assemblymen. So he called up Shahidan as well as Bintong assemblyman Datuk Dr Md Isa Sabu, and asked each to bring along all their supporters in the state assembly. In the headcount, Dr Md Isa outnumbered Shahidan’s men nine to four and the former was sworn in.

In Perak, the situation was slightly different. The Perak constitution requires that the mentri besar be Malay, which narrowed the choices considerably.

When the DAP protested against the appointment of a PAS assemblyman as mentri besar – PAS having won only six seats to the DAP’s 18 – Raja Nazrin, acting as Regent, called for time-out so that the claimants could sort out the confusion.

On March 17, Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, then not yet a Datuk Seri, was sworn in as Perak Mentri Besar.

Among the Barisan-held states, Terengganu proved to be the most delicate. The previous mentri besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh had allegedly fallen into disfavour with the palace over some large-scale projects, including Terengganu’s landmark crystal mosque.

The Sultan of Terengganu, who had specific ideas about the running of his state, wanted to see a change in his mentri besar.

It is believed that the Sultan remembered the MP for Kijal, Datuk Ahmad Said, 51, as the only person who had once stood up to Idris in the previous state government. In 2004, Ahmad was dropped from the state candidates’ list but in 2008, was included again. The Sultan, noting his presence, picked him as Mentri Besar.

Quietly, each royal house seems to have put the controversy of the 1983 and 1993 constitutional crises well behind them.

Depending on the behaviour of the royals themselves, Malaysians by and large still hold royalty in respect or awe.

Prior to the 1990s, there were indeed royals whose conduct raised eyebrows. But one rarely hears of such conduct today, giving no excuse to the executive to clamp down on the monarchy.

The next generation of sultans seems to have adopted the style of the Thai royal house, which takes a lively interest in the welfare of its citizens. King Bhumipol Adulyadej is revered by Thais and this is perhaps the route that the younger royals want to take.

As Raja Nazrin said: “The monarchies that have survived – and I include Malaysia’s among these – have done so because they have evolved in line with social progress and contribute to public life.

“They have evolved by accepting the reality of, and placing themselves above, partisan politics.”