Agong meddling in politics? So, what?

And to make sure no one had any “wrong” ideas, the military was placed under the Rulers. And the Rulers had the constitutional power to declare an emergency, suspend parliament, and get the military to take over. And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, other than shout and scream.

NO HOLD BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Let’s get one thing very clear, the Federal Constitution of Malaya (now Malaysia) was drafted by the British (when Britain itself does not have a written Constitution). And in their wisdom, the British inserted certain safeguards into that Constitution.

The British always regarded the Malays as the Bumiputera or natives cum owners of the land — the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaya being just one of the many tribes of Malays. At that time Sabah and Sarawak were not yet part of the 1946 Federation of Malaya or Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (they came in only 17 years later in 1963).

It was always the intention of the British that the Malays would be the “first amongst equals” (some of you might not be familiar with that term) while the non-Malays would be given their place under the Malayan sun but would not be the tuan or lords of the Malays. In short, the Malays are the lords of the land.

The British always regarded the non-Malays as “temporary citizens” of Malaya. That was why when Merdeka was being negotiated or considered, the British had to think long and hard about what to do with the non-Malays.

The majority of the non-Malays, the Chinese and Indians, were not legally Malayans. They were also no longer citizens of China and India either. However, bringing them back to England when the British decided to go home was also not an option.

The British made sure the Rulers were placed as the umbrella to the Malays

The thought of millions of “coloured” and yellow immigrants coming to England made Whitehall shiver. This was around the era of 1950, mind you, when even in the United States they still had segregation and separate buses and schools for blacks and whites, etc.

The British could not send the non-Malays home to China and India and neither did they want to bring them home to England as well. They wanted to dump or abandon the non-Malays in Malaya (that was what Hindraf said and the reason why they are suing Britain for RM1 million for every abandoned Indian — which will come to more than the cost of the crown jewels).

As an incentive to get the Malays to agree to absorb the abandoned non-Malays and allow them a home under the Malayan sun, the British drafted the Federal Constitution of Malaya in such way that the Malays would never lose their sovereignty and political domination to the non-Malays.

To put in bluntly or in a kasar (abrasive) manner, the British made sure the Malays will always be the boss and the non-Malays second-class citizens. This may sound brutal but let us call a spade a spade. The British were experts at this (such as like taking over India and naming themselves the Tuan of India and declaring the country “British India”).

But there has to be an insurance policy or safeguard. What happens if one day the Malays lost their majority in Parliament (in 1955, the Alliance Party and PAS won 100% or all 52 of the 52 seats)?

The British created the Malay Regiment for a reason

Well, then that is where the Rulers (Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong and His Majesty’s nine brother-rulers, totalling 10) would come in.

The Federal Constitution is Supreme (Article 4(1): This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation) but the Agong is even more Supreme (Article 32(1): There shall be a Supreme Head of the Federation, to be called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who shall take precedence over all persons in the Federation and shall not be liable to any proceedings whatsoever in any court).

So, there you have it. The British wanted to make sure that the Malays would always have an umbrella. And this umbrella is the ten Rulers. The Rulers are to make sure the Malays would never lose their position as the lords of the land a.k.a. Ketuanan Melayu.

And to make sure no one had any “wrong” ideas, the military was placed under the Rulers. And the Rulers had the constitutional power to declare an emergency, suspend parliament, and get the military to take over. And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, other than shout and scream.

I hear many smart people, lawyers, and non-Malays arguing that the Rulers are interfering in politics and that they should not do so. Is that so? So, what? What do you want to do about it? What can you do about it? It is the duty of the Rulers to ensure that the Malays remain the lords of the land. And if you don’t like it, go to court and sue the Agong and the Conference of Rulers. Or migrate to Singapore.

Now get out of here and go play in the corner.