The return of the Sultans as a force of stability

Two days before the Conference of Rulers, the nine rulers of Malaysia issued a statement calling the govt to quickly conclude the investigations into the 1MDB affair. For almost two decades, the role of the Sultans was in eclipsed, their wings clipped by the notorious Mahathir whose political fortune was on the rise. Mahathir then was the undisputed and most powerful PM Malaysia ever had. He was the one to call the shot and had little respect for the rulers of Malaysia whose track records gave Mahathir a chance to clamp down on their powers.

In those days, Mahathir and UMNO were riding on a wave of Malay supremacy and popularity and stood on high moral grounds relative to the house of the rulers. Mahathir was able to chastise the rulers and in 1993 amended the Constitution to remove the rulers’ legal immunity. Mahathir was then at the peak of his power and no rulers could stand up to him.

Two decades today, the fate of Malay politicians and UMNO have changed with Mahathir out of the PM’s seat. The indiscretion and wayward ways of UMNO and its politicians have weakened their standing among the rakyat and the charges of corruption are so prevalent that the house of the royalties is looking like angels.

The 1MDB affair is looking so ridiculous that no matter what Najib and his peers tried to do, the matter just got worse. There is hardly any chance of Najib getting out of this fracas clean. Mahathir tried his best but not enough as he is no longer at his best. A stalemate kind of situation has been reached whereby Najib would still be the PM and no one could do anything about it.

This scenario is like two wounded lions fighting desperately to stay alive and here comes the hunter waiting for the kill. The royalties have kept themselves pretty clean for the last two decades and confidence in them have grown among the rakyat. And with the politicians falling all over among themselves, everyone as bad as the other, the royalties are now standing on high moral grounds to tell the politicians to shape up or get out.

The statement made by the house of rulers is quite unprecedented and a sign of the growing confidence and power of the royalties. They are back, to regain their rightful place in Malaysia politics. The politicians no longer can stand on solid ground to dispel the royalties for any wrongdoings. They are all up to their necks in deep water and are struggling to stay alive.

It is an opportune moment for the house of rulers to tell him who is boss and should be respected. The Constitution Amendments withdrawing the legal immunity of the rulers still stands. Such immunity shall be applied equally and the politicians shall not enjoy any immunity for any criminal acts. There shall be no legal immunity for the politicians.

The 1MDB must be settled quickly. The Red Shirts are not going to give up until they create a riot to create a diversion from 1MDB. And there is now another excuse to do in Malacca.  Some Malay immigration officers were assaulted by gangsters in downtown Malacca while conducting a raid in the area. Mohd Ali Baharom, a Red Shirt leader, is taking this opportunity to raise fear in downtown Malacca. He warned that 10,000 Red Shirts will descend upon downtown Malacca and it ‘will not be safe’. The police are going to question him. Just hope the police will do the same thing like in KL to prevent another racial riot.

Would the Malay rulers put pressure on the Red Shirts not to politicize the issue and turn the country upside down? The police should round up the gangsters in the assault. It is a police case, not a case for political rioting.