The Rulers are upset with Mahathir
The Rulers know they have hardly any power to decide what happens in Malaysia’s political arena. So the Rulers would rather politicians from all sides of the political fence go and kill each other without dragging the Monarchy into this. This is what Dr Mahathir wanted so this is what he is getting. And he has only himself to blame if he thinks that the cards are stacked against him and he can do very little to oust the Prime Minister because the system favours the Prime Minister.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Selangor Sultan chairs 240th meeting of Conference of Rulers
(Bernama) – The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, today chaired the 240th meeting of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara here.
The meeting, which began at 11.30am, was attended by all the Malay Rulers except the Sultan of Pahang who was represented by the Tengku Mahkota, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
The Yang diPertuas Negri of Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak also attended the meeting.
The Malay Rulers were accompanied by the menteris besar of the respective states and the Yang diPertuas Negeri were accompanied by the respective chief ministers.
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It seems the Rulers are not too happy with the latest political developments in Malaysia, especially regarding who is to blame for the removal/appointment of the Attorney General and issues related to the MACC, etc.
From the discussions in the social media and those on the Internet and Blogs, the people, in particular the opposition, are blaming the Rulers for whatever it is that they are unhappy about. Some of them blame Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for what they allege is his acting in a draconian or undemocratic manner.
The issue is, as far as the Rulers are concerned, it is neither the Rulers nor Najib’s fault but the fault lies with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It was Dr Mahathir who changed the law and removed the powers of the Rulers and in that same process destroyed whatever checks and balances the Rulers could offer.
In short, Dr Mahathir gave the office of the Prime Minister absolute powers and no longer does the Prime Minister need to share power with the Monarchy. The Prime Minister can decide and the Rulers have to just follow. And even if the Rulers do not agree it really does not matter. Hence it was Dr Mahathir who wanted the Prime Minister to be accountable to no one but himself. That is the law.
And now Dr Mahathir is grumbling about it and the Rulers are sharing the brunt of that displeasure. In fact, there was many an occasion when a certain Ruler was not too happy about a Bill that was being passed and although the said Ruler refused to sign that Bill it still automatically became law even without the Ruler’s consent. That is the law.
So that is what Malaysia has been reduced to. And it was Dr Mahathir who is the cause of it. And yet he blames the Prime Minister for doing this, that, or the other, and they blame the Monarchy for something that is not the fault of the Rulers.
The Rulers know they have hardly any power to decide what happens in Malaysia’s political arena. So the Rulers would rather politicians from all sides of the political fence go and kill each other without dragging the Monarchy into this. This is what Dr Mahathir wanted so this is what he is getting. And he has only himself to blame if he thinks that the cards are stacked against him and he can do very little to oust the Prime Minister because the system favours the Prime Minister.
