THE royal houses or sultanates in Malaysia appear to have asserted their reassuring influence in the fabric of Malaysian life of late by playing a pivotal role to address various pertinent issues affecting the country and rakyat.
They include political stand-offs, which had become rather rife in the last few years.
NOT JUST FOR SHOW
In the past, more often than not, astute royal watchers saw the role of the monarchy in Malaysia, as in many other places in the world, being largely ceremonial.
And some observers take the not-so-broad view that the Malay rulers only become bestowers of awards and undertake specific ceremonial functions like the opening of parliamentary and state assembly sittings.
But this is no longer the case as more people are beginning to see other important functions being exercised by them.
Take the latest political stalemate after the 15th General Election: with no one coalition willing to give way, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had to step in and broker a more defensible or justifiable solution to break the political deadlock.
And he did it with elan and inclusiveness by getting his brother rulers to attend a special meeting at Istana Negara as well to validate what was the best way out.
WISE AND FAIR KINGS
The collective decision of the meeting attended by the King, the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatudin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail had a significant bearing on the country as it not only brought calm and stability to an otherwise frustrating political scenario, but also to set in motion the many endeavours to move the nation forward towards the formation of the much desired national unity government.
Their sheer wisdom and steadfastness in supporting what was only fair when no political coalition had an overwhelming majority immediately provided the much-needed succour for Bursa Malaysia and even bolstered the strength of the ringgit, which was akin to the sewing reference of "a stitch in time saves nine", meaning it's better to solve a problem right away and to stop it from becoming a much bigger one.
That they made a decision to endorse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's legitimacy to take office as the 10th prime minister by virtue of his support from other conceding political parties in the aftermath of the recent polls had been decisive towards that important inclusive journey towards rebuilding the country and healing of political wounds.
And this was not the first time that the Malay rulers have come to the rescue of the nation.
ROYALS TO THE RESCUE
In February 2020, the Agong featured prominently to resolve a week-long stalemate by interviewing each of the 222 MPs to determine who enjoyed a majority in parliament after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's sudden resignation as prime minister.
The Malay rulers again came to the fore in October 2020 when they rejected a request to declare a state of emergency to enable the government to manage the Covid-19 outbreak.
The King, who is expected to be apolitical, is often being called upon by politicians to see their side of the picture, while the public yearns for his wisdom to make judicious interventions to bring stability to the country besides having to take into account the views of his brother rulers at the same time. He walks a tightrope, so to speak.
But the heart-warming thing is that all communities in the country accept the important role of our unique constitutional monarchy in our ever-evolving political system.
Daulat Tuanku!
