Malaysia installed a new king yesterday, with the Sultan
of Kedah replacing the Sultan of Terengganu as the country's ruler for the next
five years.
Under Malaysia's system of
rotating the position among its nine royal households, Sultan Abdul Halim
Mu'adzam Shah has the distinction of being the first to be king twice, after
having first served from 1970 to 1975.
Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal
Abidin, 49, ended his term on Monday.
Sultan Abdul Halim took his
oath of office as Malaysia's 14th king at the new National Palace, with Cabinet
ministers and rulers from other states in attendance.
At 84, he is the oldest sultan
to become king, and takes over at a time when the monarchy is playing an
increasingly active role in Malaysia's political life.
The trend has become noticeable
in recent years, after the departure of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad
in 2003. During his 22 years in office, Tun Dr Mahathir's administration curbed
the powers of the rulers and removed their legal immunity, and also highlighted
some of their excesses. Royalty was reduced to mostly ceremonial roles.
But Sultan Mizan - who became
king in 2006 - and several other rulers have, in recent years, shed their
passivity.
As the 13th king, Sultan Mizan
spoke openly about governance, combating corruption and bridging the country's
racial divide.
Earlier this year, when
tensions ran high over a massive planned street demonstration by
non-governmental organisation Bersih, he almost single-handedly quelled the
storm when he played mediator by meeting Bersih's leaders.
Bersih initially agreed to move
its rally indoors, but later reversed the decision when the authorities refused
to grant a permit for the stadium they wanted.
Analysts say the political
uncertainty after the watershed general election in 2008, which saw the
opposition make huge inroads, had pulled rulers - willingly or not - into the
political sphere to fill the leadership vacuum.
In 2009, for example, when four
Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers in Perak defected to Barisan Nasional, causing a
change of state government, the Sultan of Perak came under heavy public
pressure to call for fresh polls - a constitutional power he holds. He refused.
Political analyst Johan
Saravanamuttu pointed out that sultans have also been dragged into mediating
religious issues, as the head of Islam in their state. This happened most
recently when the Selangor Sultan was asked to advise on an alleged attempt by
a church to convert Muslims to Christianity a few months ago, which is illegal.
The role of royalty in Malaysia
could grow further, said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies. "For now, royalty potentially plays the role of
being moral leaders in the moral vacuum that is seen as apparent in the federal
leadership."
Sultan Abdul Halim, who has
been less vocal than other rulers the past few years, will be watched closely.
In an interview with Bernama
ahead of taking office, he expressed hope that Malaysia will continue to enjoy
peace and prosperity, with the various races living in harmony.
"Sometimes, politicians
take the easy way out in their bid to remain popular by playing up religious
and racial issues," he said. "This causes uneasy feelings among the
people, who may only be the followers and have no inkling about the issues
being fanned."
Teo Cheng Wee
The Straits Times
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