I want to reverse what Dr M did to our Rulers

Dear Y.M. Raja Petra Kamarudin,

The following paragraphs that you wrote opened the eyes of many ordinary Malaysians and the points that you wrote are enlightening.

“The other rulers, too, monitor the progress of their respective states. Take Selangor, for example. His Highness the Sultan meets the Menteri Besar every week and normally has a long list of things to discuss. His Highness also follows up on previous discussions to see whether whatever was raised has been attended to.

No, Rulers do not just sleep in their Palaces. They work. They go to office. The Sultan of Kedah, the current Agong, even sets aside a certain day when the normal rakyat or man-in-the-street can just walk in to complain to His Majesty whatever it is they are not happy about. That is why Mahathir was given his audience on 15th September 2016 to ‘complain’ about Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Even a farmer or fisherman is given that privilege in Kedah.

But the other Rulers do not post all this in their blogs or call for a press conference or issue media statements. And for sure they do not throw challenges or invite people to fight. The other Rulers know that they should work within their ‘jurisdiction’ and not be seen as ‘playing politics’ or grandstanding.”

I used to have this belief that the Rulers and the King are merely ceremonial figureheads after Dr M abolished many of their Highnesses’ powers in the 1990s. I felt so sad for them because there are republicans among us who are surreptitiously calling for the overthrow of the ”puppets” (forgive me, Y.M., I don’t mean to ‘derhaka’ but I just bring up what I have heard as I myself am a staunch monarchist). That is right, Rulers do not just eat, play and sleep and do nothing . Perhaps their Highnesses have lesser to do compared before the era of Dr M’s despotic rule.

Y.M, I am still young and I don’t really wish to be active in politics in the future but I want to reverse what Dr M did to our Rulers; I have this adamant hope that one day, one fine day, the powers that Dr M forcefully removed from our Rulers will be returned to them in due respect and honour. When they don’t “work” some people will brand them as ”puppets” and ” do nothings who waste tax payers money”. Anyway, thank you for highlighting the duties of our Rulers in this article of yours for all Malaysians to know because not many us commoners will know about their Highnesses’ works.

Yours faithfully,

James Saw Song Kai 

Sultan Sharafuddin visiting the Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Kuching