The Agong and Sultan Sharafuddin will never consent to a Mahathir led government

“Which is why, you can be sure that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would never consent to a Mahathir led government in the unlikelihood that Pakatan Harapan wins the next election (GE14). Like Sultan Sharafuddin, the King knows that PPBM is merely a vessel to help Kit Siang advance his devious agenda against the ruling Barisan Nasional government. But that’s not all – the rulers also remember how Mahathir spent 22 years undermining the Monarchical Institution by amending the Federal Constitution to consolidate his grip of power”

THE THIRD FORCE

Not many are aware that the political identity of the Malay is inscribed in the Federal Constitution through its regard for the traditional Monarch. Back in the days of the Malacca Sultanate, a ruler was revered and accorded the kind of celebrity the British would accord King Henry the Sixth and Edward the Fourth. Today, Queen Elizabeth the Second is still honored with that distinction, while in Malaysia, you actually have Malay leaders telling our rulers to be “careful” with their words lest they cause “the country to burn.”

Those were the words of Dato’ Zaid Ibrahim, who took to tweeter last Thursday to convey that message to Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. The former de facto Law Minister maintains that he meant no harm to the ruler of Selangor. But that’s quite hard for anyone to digest, considering that Zaid is currently a member of the DAP, a Chinese chauvinist concern led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s onetime arch nemesis, Lim Kit Siang.

And therein the irony.

You see, back in the days of Langkah Kajang, Kit Siang became the first Chinaman to tell a ruler to butt out of state political affairs. The year was 2014, and the mission, to force a resignation from Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, then the Menteri Besar of Selangor. The senior Lim warned Sultan Sharafuddin against overstepping his jurisdiction as the titular head of Selangor when the latter refused to acknowledge PKR’s choice of a replacement for Khalid, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Three years later, Mahathir became the first Malay to openly declare that the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, was a Bugis pirate who got lost at sea and ended up in Malaysia. Despite a royal rebuke from Sultan Sharafuddin and sharp criticism by Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla, the former premier reiterated the stand during a Pakatan Harapan rally held a week later by insisting that Najib was a Bugis pirate and not a warrior.

Today, Kit Siang is sitting alongside the former premier on a bench dedicated to throwing dragons, trucks, busses and locomotives at Najib and UMNO, forget the kitchen sink and spanner. And while they’re at it, they seem all too willing to hurl insults at Sultan Sharafuddin for no apparent rhyme or reason. In Kit Siang’s books, the ruler is someone the Chinese need not fear, let alone revere. In Mahathir’s books, Sultan Sharafuddin is just another Buginese pirate who is not worthy of his respect.

Now, when a Chinaman as insolent as Kit Siang decides to work with a Keralan as insolent as Mahathir, you have the perfect recipe for havoc given that the union represents an agreement between a Chinese leader and a former Malay statesman to disregard the eminency of the Monarchical institution. Back in fifteenth century Malacca, the duo would probably have had their heads chopped off or suffered fates far worse than death at the hands of villagers.

But today, they have a following.

Thanks to the duo, we now have people like Zaid growing balls the size of two watermelons and hurling abuses at members of royalty. Still, you have to believe me when I say that there is absolutely no conspiracy at play insofar as Zaid and his random rants are concerned. This fellow has a history of blurting out the most insensitive of remarks at the most inappropriate of times whenever he feels the coast is clear.

In this case, he saw his own party’s de facto chief working in tandem with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) chairman against the palace and decided to join in the fray. So you shouldn’t spend too much time trying to figure this fellow out. However, it is definitely worth your while figuring out what Mahathir is up to each time he picks a quarrel with the ruler of Selangor.

Yes, it’s always the ruler of Selangor, in case you haven’t noticed.

Most recently, the former premier returned two awards both he and his wife received – one in 1978, and another, in 2003 – from Sultan Sharafuddin’s late father, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah. Ever since then, there have been an abundance of theories purporting to reveal just why Mahathir resorted to what many are referring to as a “royal snub.” But unbeknown to many, the real reason has to do with something I made public on Wednesday, which you can read all about by clicking HERE.

Suffice to say, the former premier returned the awards upon learning that the ruler had already planned to revoke them. The matter was leaked to Mahathir through his wife by her own brother, Tan Sri Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali. Hashim happens to be a member of the Selangor Ruler’s Council where the ruler was scheduled to propose the revocation. The retired army general knew that by leaking the information, the former premier would immediately return the awards just to deny Sultan Sharafuddin the ‘pleasure’ of ‘embarrassing’ him in public.

But Mahathir had no idea of this.

Up until the point I published When Siti Hasmah destroys her own husband, he was under the impression that he successfully delivered a “royal snub’ to the palace of Selangor. But thanks to the article, the former premier now knows that Hashim did what he did only to prevent Sultan Sharafuddin from being cast in bad light. The retired army general knew that the ruler would have looked bad in the eyes of the public had the latter revoked the state awards himself.

In other words, Mahathir’s own brother in-law played him out to preserve the sanctity of the Monarchical Institution. And that should give you an idea just how much the people of the palace hate the former premier. Despite Hashim being Siti Hasmah’s own flesh and blood, he chose to protect the ruler instead of catering to her husband’s egotistical and selfish whims.

And that brings me to my point – there is no way on earth Sultan Sharafuddin would ever allow Pakatan Harapan to form government in Selangor. Even if the coalition were to command majority representation within the state assembly, the ruler would likely consent to an UMNO-PAS unity government with Khalid Ibrahim in the picture. It is next to impossible that Zaid Ibrahim will ever be the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

To appreciate that reason, you’ll first need to appreciate the fact that Sultan Sharafuddin is a very respectable and influential figure within the Rulers Council of Malaysia. Everything he says or suggests is  held with esteem and tends to influence decisions made by the council. Now, it is an open secret that the ruler despises Lim Kit Siang and has never forgiven the latter for insulting him during the botched Langkah Kajang.

But that’s not all.

The ruler will also never trust any Malay who consorts with the senior Lim in any capacity, particularly if that capacity borders on Islam and the sensibilities of the Malays. The DAP has never been reserved or restricted in that department – these past few years alone, we have seen how party members and leaders referred to UMNO Malays as “Melayu Pukimak,” “Melayu Bodoh” and “Metallic Black.” Now, has Mahathir or Zaid ever reprimanded the DAP or Kit Siang on these matters?

No.

As a matter of fact, the duo has gone on record declaring that the DAP isn’t racist, with Mahathir going so far as to claim that the MCA is “Chinese chauvinist.” As far as Sultan Sharafuddin is concerned, that alone is testimony that neither Zaid nor PPBM represent Malay sensibilities but are vessels to help the DAP commit democratic thievery against the Government of Malaysia. The ruler probably remembers how Kit Siang spent close to three decades insisting that Mahathir was a “fundamentalist” and an “Islamic fanatic” and will never believe that the ever-resentful Machiavellian forgave the senior Lim for that.

Which is why, you can be sure that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would never consent to a Mahathir led government in the unlikelihood that Pakatan Harapan wins the next election (GE14). Like Sultan Sharafuddin, the King knows that PPBM is merely a vessel to help Kit Siang advance his devious agenda against the ruling Barisan Nasional government. But that’s not all – the King also remembers how Mahathir spent 22 years undermining the Monarchical Institution by amending the Federal Constitution to consolidate his grip of power.

Need I say more?