Legal Tenure?

• 6 May 2019
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The recent spats involving some of Malaysia’s nominal State Rulers brings into focus the whole question of the rights, privileges and status of ruling houses in some of Malaysia’s component States. Much has been made of the claimed rights of the Rulers in such States but what is the real position?

When the British moved into the Peninsula from Singapore they found it suitable, in some cases, to make accommodations with some of those State rulers whose power and authority was based on acquisition by force at earlier dates. The British, who could have easily displaced those they found in power chose to make accomadations to avoid the expense and loss involved in imposing their authority by force; as they had the means to do.

The end result of that policy was that when colonialism had to give way to national independence the Rulers were left rather like whales stranded on a beach and reliant on humans to get them back in the water. Their rights and status under the colonial regime could simply have been abrogated as outdated anomalies. That would have been the easiest way of emphasising Malaysia’s new status as an independent nation. In the history of colonialism more than a few redundant or non-cooperative hereditary chiefs had been parked, voluntarily or otherwise, in remoter parts of the colonial empire in order to resolve difficulties over status or activities.

In the end, and with the concurrence of the leaders of the majority Malay party the present arrangements were decided on and it was expected by all concerned that the reservation of status afforded by the new Constitution, plus a turn in the Agongship would satisfy those concerned and keep them out of national politics and policy.

To some extent that expectation has been met by most of the Rulers concerned but, as always, there have been attempts to go beyond the boundaries set and agreed to and that is what Malaysia is seeing once again at the present time. How far it is sensible to kick against the traces and assert authority long gone and neve to return is a matter for individual judgment but it is crystal clear that the last thing Malaysia needs now is a clash between elected leaders who have constitutional authority behind them and some few individuals living in a past that has long gone and will not be coming back