After days of intense speculation, Sultan Muhammad V has resigned as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
On Sunday, Jan 6, the Comptroller of the Royal Household, Wan Ahmad Dahlan Ab Aziz, said the king had decided to step down from his post in line with Article 32 (3) of the Federal Constitution.
Article 32 (3) states: “The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be elected by the Conference of Rulers for a term of five years, but may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Conference of Rulers or be removed from office by the Conference of Rulers, and shall cease to hold office on ceasing to be a ruler.”
There have been a few cases in the past where serving kings died in office, but never before has any king stepped down midway, either on his own or removed by his fellow rulers. The present case is unprecedented in nature, and history is being created by it.
The Federal Constitution gives full discretion to the rulers in the election or removal of the king. Political leaders have no say in it. Soon, the Conference of Rulers will have to convene to decide who the next king will be. By convention, the next king will be chosen based on the rotational system.
Is it going to be the sultan of Pahang, who is next in line, Johor, the next after Pahang, or Perak who will be our next king? Or the rulers may ask the sultan of Perak to continue as acting Agong. Whoever is eventually chosen by the Conference of Rulers, the people are hopeful that it will be someone who is able to work well with the federal government.
Why abdicate?
The people are dumbfounded and perplexed by the turn of events that led to the king’s resignation. All sorts of rumours had surfaced about the king’s recent marriage to a Russian beauty queen and insinuations about His Majesty’s personal health. But these are all unconfirmed rumours and stories, churned out by rumour mills and the grapevine for which Malaysia is famous. Such gossiping and rumour-mongering is a favourite national pastime.
To be fair to everybody, the king’s purported marriage to the Russian starlet had been widely reported by the international media with no rebuttal or denial from the palace. As to the said personal health issues of His Majesty, it is a sensational piece of news to the people and something to be taken with a pinch of salt.
The people are aware that the relationship between the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and the king did not start on the right footing. Dr Mahathir Mohamad was subjected to an undignified and prolonged wait before finally being sworn in as the seventh prime minister of the country.
Rumours and stories abound about political intrigue and conspiracies involving certain parties out to deny Mahathir his rightful place as prime minister. Whether this is true or not is again a matter of conjecture and speculation. But the people saw on television and read in the papers how Mahathir was treated at the palace. Not long after that came the expose by the media adviser to the prime minister about the king’s over-spending and extra lavish lifestyle, which far exceeded the allocated budget. Presumably, this resulted in a further strain in the relationship between the king and the government.
At the same time, there was talk about the king’s refusal to abide by security protocol, much to the chagrin of the government and security minders.
Whether all these factors and issues combined to make it untenable for His Majesty to continue as king is not clear and will probably remain unknown. But whatever the case may be, the people will be wishing Sultan Muhammad V the very best as His Highness returns to Kelantan to continue as their sultan.
The people of Kelantan are known for their loyalty and reverence for the sultan. And it is a known fact that His Highness has a good working relationship with the state government. So there is reason to believe that His Highness will have better and happier times ahead in Kelantan.
Another dark cloud on the horizon
Of greater concern to the people now is the unending tiff and spat between the Johor palace and the PH government. The strained relationship between the Johor palace and Mahathir has been brewing for quite a while now. It started way before GE14 when the Johor palace took a political stand by supporting Najib Razak and his government and urged Johorians to vote for Umno/ Barisan Nasional. The feud continues to this day with little signs of abating.
For the sake of the country and the people, all stakeholders in the power equation of the country, including the institution of the monarchy, have to observe and uphold the sanctity of the Federal Constitution. The constitution spells out very clearly the role of the king and the sultans in our political system.
The Agong is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Generally, the king has to act and exercise his power on the advice of the prime minister or Cabinet. In practice, most of the actual day-to-day work of governing the nation is performed by the Cabinet. The executive, which is headed by the prime minister, the legislative and the judiciary are the three branches of the government. The king is vested with some discretionary power that pertains only to the appointment of the prime minister, withholding of consent to dissolve Parliament and the conferment of privileges, position, honours and dignities. It is very clear that the Federal Constitution envisages the king to be above politics and non-partisan, to be uninvolved in the administration and running of the country. The same arrangement is also applicable to the respective states vis-à-vis the roles and duties of the state rulers and governments.
The endless feud between the Johor palace and PH government is not good for the nation, the state and the people. It makes governance of the nation and the state difficult and brings confusion to the people, more so when TMJ insisted that he would continue to speak for the people and be “public enemy No 1”.
TMJ’s intentions may be good and noble but are hardly appropriate in the context of the system of constitutional monarchy that we practise. It is best for the institution of monarchy to remain aboveboard in politics and be uninvolved in its proceedings. The institution should stick to its role and let politics be the domain of the people.
Let the government of the day, the opposition and other legitimate players deal with the issues of governance, and at the end of it, let the people make their decision at the poll booth.
If the institution of monarchy or its members were to force the issue by continuing to be political, not only would it bring disrepute to the institution as a whole, it might also force the government of the day to fight back, paving the way for another round of constitutional crisis akin to the constitutional crisis of 1983 (the curtailment of the king’s power to declare emergency) and 1993 (the removal of immunity to sultans who violate the law and the setting up of a special court to prosecute them).
If that were to happen, then once again people would be forced to take sides. We could speculate on who would end up having the upper hand and who would end up worse off if that were to happen. But whatever the case may be, it is a prospect which the people wish to avoid as it would almost certainly end with a nation divided. They are well aware of the truism of two Malay proverbs in this instance: “Telan mati mak, luah mati bapak” and “Menang jadi arang, kalah jadi abu”.
People want good governance, peace and prosperity
Whether it is the government of the day or the institution of monarchy, each side has to be acutely aware that the raison d’etre of their very existence is by the consent and goodwill of the people. Let both sides work and cooperate with one another as envisaged by the Federal Constitution to serve the larger interests of the people.
The people already have enough problems in having to cope with the slumping economy, the high cost of living and the endless politics of the day. They should be spared unnecessary problems and distractions caused or brought about by the said feuding parties.
Let us now concentrate on the management and governance of the nation. Since the people have given the mandate to PH to manage the nation until GE15, let us give them the opportunity to prove their mettle. The people will judge them accordingly in due course.
Wan Haron Wan Hassan is a senior practising lawyer, active in civil society movements.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.