Don’t question sovereignty of rulers, says Perak Sultan

(Bernama) — The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, said today any move which questions the interests of the Malays and Bumiputeras in terms of scholarships and places of study not only violates the fundamental provisions in the federal and state constitutions but also questions the sovereignty of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay Rulers.

He said Clause 2 of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution provided the King with specific powers to safeguard the interests of the Malays as well as the Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak in terms of scholarships and places of study.

He also said that Article 27 (b) (2) of the Perak State Constitution provided a similar responsibility to the Sultan of Perak.

"These matters enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the state constitution are agreements achieved collectively in the spirit of give and take and the spirit of understanding and respect among the leaders representing the interests of the various races at the time of negotiating the nation's independence.

"The agreements were achieved among the leaders of the various races, the British government and also the Malay Rulers," he said when opening a Discourse on Knowledge at the Perak Islamic Administration Institute, here. Also present was the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.

Sultan Azlan Shah said the leaders of the country had the political responsibility and statesmanship to respect the fundamentals which formed the pillar of sovereignty of an independent nation as well as the fundamentals which formed the root of harmonious racial relations, fundamentals which were agreed upon at the time the nation was formulating the Merdeka constitution.

He said a deviation from the original spirit would surely cause anxiety and drag the nation into a situation of uncertainty.

"At the same time, the fundamentals of the agreement should not at all be abused at the implementation stage so as to make any race feel that it has been oppressed.

"In accordance with the role of the throne as the source of justice, it is also the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers in every state to ensure that the legitimate interests of the other races are also safeguarded," he said.

The sultan said practices which deviated from the principles of justice should not be allowed to take place because every legitimate citizen should be accorded appropriate justice.