For surely a king is first a man. And so it must follow that a king does as all men do: the best he can.
– Cameron Dokey, American author
When Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang took over as Malaysia’s 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2019, little did he know what was in store for him, particularly the political storms he had to weather over the past 32 tumultuous months.
It has not been an easy ride for Sultan Abdullah since he succeeded Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan who abdicated in January 2019. Malaysians will surely be grateful to Sultan Muhammad V for one of his important acts as the king; he pardoned Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, our current prime minister, in 2018.
Sultan Abdullah had faced three political upheavals – the Sheraton Move of Feb 2020, the ouster of then Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in August 2021 and the recent hung Parliament following the Nov 19 general election.
Add in the COVID-19 pandemic and we have a king with a full plate. I doubt anyone would envy the position of the ruler during such trying times.
I think that among our few recent kings, Sultan Abdullah is probably more well-known among Malaysians, particularly those engaged in the sporting arena as officials or those who are just sports fans.
Sultan Abdullah, a football diehard, has been involved in Malaysian football for many decades. He also supports numerous other sports bodies in the country. Many sports officials who have worked with him found him a humble and hard-working leader; one who is in touch with the commoner.
Faced with the Sheraton Move and the collapse of the duly elected Pakatan Harapan government in Feb 2020, Sultan Abdullah turned to the Constitution, and rightly so, to resolve the impasse.
This was no easy feat as he was dealing with a group of turncoats and traitors, frowned upon by the majority of Malaysians, who were attempting to set up a “backdoor” government. The king had to settle for Muhyiddin as he was the leader who managed to secure the support of the most number of MPs.
Sultan Abdullah went through the same procedure in August 2021 when he appointed Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Malaysia’s 9th Prime Minister.
This time, it was more straight-forward as Ismail has the tacit support of the majority of MPs from the various coalitions and independents. Pakatan Harapan (PH), then in the opposition, also signed a CSA (Confidence and Supply Agreement) with the new prime minister to bring about a semblance of stability to the government and the country.
Sultan Abdullah must have learned valuable lessons from these two political episodes that he was prepared to act with great tact, fairness and wisdom in dealing with the hung Parliament following GE15 on Nov 19.
Most of us will look back at the events of the past 10 days with pride and joy and we have one man to thank for – His Majesty, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Yes, we are blessed with a very wise king – Sultan Abdullah.
On Nov 22, when the Agong summoned the two prime minister contenders, Anwar Ibrahim and Muhyiddin, to the palace, he has only one thing in mind – a unity government.
We now know what transpired that day at the palace. Anwar was prepared to abide by the king’s wish but not Muhyiddin.
When presented with the proposal of forming a unity government with PH, Muhyiddin objected. Muhyiddin disclosed that he told the king that cooperation with PH was against the policy of PN and the people’s mandate. This stance was also agreed to by Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS president) who was in the audience with the king.
Hello, was it not the same Malay politicians who criticised others for alleged disloyalty to the Malay rulers? By their action of defying the Agong’s wish, what does it reflect on Muhyiddin and Hadi Awang? Why, when it suits their political interests, they will conveniently forget the “Loyalty to king and country” tenet in the Rukun Negara. This was an act of total disobedience and disloyalty to the Agong.
Understandably, such an act of defiance must have upset the king. Two days later, Sultan Abdullah called his brother rulers for a Rulers Conference and decided on what could only be described as the most sensible, logical and wise resolution – that of the appointment of Anwar as the 10th Prime Minister in a government of national reconciliation.
Sultan Abdullah has done the right thing, his brother rulers collectively have helped him make the right decision.
And the whole of Malaysia is rejoicing for at long last, there is light at the end of the tunnel which was pitch-dark for the past three years or so.
Because we have a wise king, there is now hope for Malaysia.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
