FEBRUARY 24 ― It is grimly funny to listen to Malaysians who are not in favour of the recent happenings in Putrajaya using phrases like ‘betrayal of the people’s trust’ “unelected” and “undemocratic” as a form of abuse.
It is understandable that many are peeved as a result of this dismally planned and badly executed attempt by some MPs to usurp power in the Dewan Rakyat. It is also undeniable that there is an air of Machiavellian mastery imposed in Malaysia. And many of the power pushers of the PH regime and their media toadies speak from the heart when they rage against these power plays.
Malaysians however, especially after the events of the preceding weekend, should be extremely thankful that for the most part we are not democratic and are subject to all kinds of unelected power and authority.
We should be thankful for the Monarchy, for religious institutions, for judges, for the chiefs of the Armed Forces, parents, privately owned media companies, school heads ― and the thousands of strivers who have won the freedom to hire and fire through hard work and business success and are more commonly and pejoratively known as our bosses.
Democracy plays little part in these things, and we should be grateful for it.
To say that you are an elected politician in modern Malaysia isn’t much of a boast. It means mainly that you have been picked by a narrow selection committee of politically active careerists and fixers to stand in a safe seat. Backstairs-crawlers, flatterers and obedient conformists naturally do well in this process.
These days it also means that you have been approved by some secretive group of whisperers clustered round the party leadership, who can also remove you if you show any signs of independence as evidenced by the events of this weekend.
And we see the worm infested fruits of our democracy in the Dewan Rakyat, when the backbenchers of both main coalitions show all the wit and independence of football hooligans, braying mindless applause for their own leaders, and equally mindless abuse for the other side. And then they humiliate themselves by asking tame, planted questions handed to them by the whips.
And every five years or so, they come crawling back to their constituency and beg for your support. Frankly speaking, they treat us, their voters like a joke.
Contrast that with the Malaysian Monarchy. It is fiercely Islamic, aristocratic, proudly unchanging, monocultural, dogmatic, traditional and, in its essence, conservative. At its heart are the keris of the state and the crescent of Islam and the royal yellow which serves as a sign of separation between the common folk and royalty. The monarchy is frankly superior to the slimy, creepy, corrupt and insolent world that surrounds Malaysian party politics.
Many of the Sultans and their consorts are incredibly intelligent and will put your local MP to shame with their wit and wisdom. With this, the monarchy serves as by fiat as the supreme symbol of justice tempered with mercy, and the rule of law.
The monarch is like the king on a chessboard. He cannot attack. But by occupying his square he prevents others from doing so ― others like our politicians and their ilk who long for, as last weekend demonstrated, the supremacy that monarchs have, who yearn to be escorted by booted cavalry and greeted with trumpets, and who want us to respect them even when they don’t deserve it. Especially when they don’t deserve it.
It’s not an accident that most of the longest-lasting free, law-governed countries in the world are constitutional monarchies.
What I hope last weekend will do for Malaysians is that, all of us, regardless of race, religion or class will begin to have some modicum of respect and love for our unelected monarchy. It is by having a non-political, unelected monarch, that we are freed to be properly disrespectful towards politicians, while remaining loyal to our country. With a monarch, loyalty cannot demand political submission. And that is a freedom I and I hope all Malaysians would give our lives for. In this time of uncertainty, let one thing be certain, let us all remain His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
