Loyalty to the Sultan
By John Gray
“If any member of the Royal family was to just walk by, I would simply die and would fight among those present for the right to carry their bags.”
“In fact, just to kneel and genuflect before their royal presence is simply an experience that money cannot buy. It is to them that I owe my existence. My identity as a Malay/human being is defined by my loyalty and reverence to the Royal family. It is my loyalty to them that makes me feel alive. Such grace, such majesty!! We still pore over the magazines that report on the doings of the royal families. In hushed-up tones we discuss and oogle over the details concerning their private lives. Oh if they could just bestow us the opportunity to be their servants at their majestic abodes for just one day!!!”
Is there any sane, reasonable human being out there who still harbours this pathetic longing?
If the Royal family and their extended royal connections think that all that they need to do today is just show up in public and that people would grovel to them and readily do their bidding, they are in for some nasty surprises. Those good old feudal days of “menjunjung perintah Tuanku” have long gone.
But, if the Royal family were to take their royal positions seriously, that it is more about responsibilities, that you have the responsibility of taking care of the welfare of the people in your state regardless of race and religion, then kudos to them. Of course, in order to do so, one needs education, education and education. It is only through education AND hardwork that one is able to view any matter constructively.
Turning our focus to Selangor, the most serious issue that the royal family needs to tackle right now is the fiasco concerning the Shah Alam Hospital project, as to how money has not been spent wisely and that the project has been awarded to a company owned by some members of the royal family. That issue is more important than some unfounded fears of the loss of malay heritage and privileges.
Of course, any royal family would not be complete without the hangers-on entourage whose “advice” to the Royal family is more often than not suspect. Now, there used to be a guy from the law faculty of UITM who used to brandish his title: “The Legal Advisor to the Raja Muda of Selangor”. While His Highness the Raja Muda is perfectly at liberty to appoint any person as the Legal Advisor, one could not help but wonder the un-wisdom of not appointing one of the heavyweights in the likes of Raja Aziz Addruse or even Karpal Singh. Contrast this to Sir Roland Braddel who was appointed as the legal advisor of the Malay Sultans in the run up to Independence.
Maybe the problem is not so much the Royal family itself but rather the hangers-on, the multitude of scheming and incompetent toadies whose plan for some “upward mobility/development” rests on their perceived connection to the Royal family (eg. “Give me some contracts! Obey me! Fear me! I am close to the Sultan!”) Solution? Don’t listen to them. Even better, kick them out. The rakyat need to see and must be convinced that the Royal family are not like some bunch of glorified politicians who treat the State and the State coffers as their unquestioned personal piggy bank. The Royal family is above politics and must be seen to be above politics, failing which the traditional Malays have an age old maxim for it: “Raja yang adil raja di sembah, Raja yang zalim raja disanggah”.
