The Monarchy in Contemporary Malaysia

The Independence Formula

9 The Monarchy in Contemporary Malaysia Head of Islam.2 They deliberate on matters of religion and Malay custom (adat) as their special area of competence, with a responsibility towards both Muslim and Malay identity. The Independence Formula With Independence, the monarchy became a constitutional monarchy with clearly defined parameters prescribing the sphere of influence left to the Sultans. The system of monarchy itself, too precious to relinquish, was prudently retained both in the federal and state constitutions along with Islam as the official religion,3 and Malay as the national language, but with inbuilt provisions for freedom of worship4 and recognition of other languages.5 Malaysians are very accepting. Accommodation is part of the national ethos. The position of the Rulers has since been constitutionally placed beyond debate. Their position as Head of State and Head of Islam remain unaffected. Independent Malaya had chosen to endorse its time-honoured monarchy, but in contemporary form. This then appeared to go against the modern trend. Monarchies in many countries, some of which had been in existence for several hundreds of years, came to be regarded as redundant. Newly emerging 10 Raja Nazrin Shah or newly independent countries tended to go for a republican system of government — in some cases moving from a monarchy to the latter, which was clearly the more fashionable option, seen as synonymous with modernity. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong6 Malaya, when it had the constitutional choice, not only retained its traditional sultanates at the state level but also introduced another layer of monarchy into the federal system, through an overall, supreme Ruler, thereby elevating the institution. Part of my theme is that the monarchy in our country is far from stagnant; revitalizing itself to stay in tune with the dynamics of the society in which we live and serve. The British legacy at Independence was a sound institutional framework, and it might have seemed difficult to improve upon. The new constitutional monarchy nevertheless represented a major innovation. While based on the British model, it nevertheless had its own indigenous identity. The founding fathers had to accommodate the rights and expectations of nine Rulers, the wishes of the rakyat, and the political constituency represented at federal level by the Prime Minister and at state level by the Chief Ministers. Helping to fuse these ...