The Constitutional Monarchy: Concept, Roles and Challenges

Assalamualaikum and a very good afternoon to the master of ceremony, distinguish

guests, honorable judges, respected teachers and fellow students.
In order to ensure the stability of a countrys politics, social and economics, every
country in this world needs a system of governance. A historical fact that none of us can deny is
that the monarchy is the oldest system of government. This system has taken a revolution from
the civilization of Mesopotamia to a modern system that is being used in most of the countries
nowadays. Every country has their unique government system and constitution. Our constitution
which is the supreme law of our country clearly stated that Malaysia is a federation of states and
is practicing democracy with constitutional monarchy. The Yang Dipertuan Agong is the head of
the country where the function, responsibility and authority are bind by the constitution.
Monarchy system is not a foreign concept to Malaysian since it is already trod in this land even
before the European power hit our Malaya. We, as Malaysians, should be thankful that nine
states in Malaysia still remain under the auspices of the king it is because the king plays a very
important role in creating a sovereign country.
A monarchy is a form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally
embodied in one or several individuals reigning until death or abdication. They are called
the monarchs. Then the monarch has no legal limitation, it is called an absolute monarchy. Then
the monarch discretion is formally limited by law of the country, it is called constitutional
monarchy. Usually the governance of a constitutional monarchy is done by a group of ministers
lead by a prime minister. They are appointed by the monarch or elected by the people of the
country. As for a democratic country like Malaysia, the people voted for their representative to
form a government. Republic is another form of government in which the government is ruled
by elected leaders as the supreme head of the country with absolute power.
Nowadays, society tends to think that the role of the king in constitutional monarchy has
diminished but the opinion is not true at all. As the head of the country, Yang Dipertuan Agong
has the power in all three authorities of government consisting of the executive authority, the
legislative authority and the judicial authority yet of course with the advice of the Cabinet. Based
on the book Raja Berpelembagaan Malaysia Raja-raja Melayu dan Yang di-Pertuan Agong,
the three functions are to appoint the Prime Minister, agree or disagree with the request to
dissolve Parliament and command the Conference of Rulers to have a meeting to discuss the
benefits, position, eminence and greatness of the king and take action. In addition, the wisdom of
the king as the head state, the effiency of the Prime Minister as the head of the government also
strongly influences the progress of a country. Briefly, the role of the king in the executive
authority is very important in the development of our country.
Furthermore, Yang di-Pertuan Agong also plays an important role in the judicial
authority. Among the responsibities of Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the judicial authority is to
appoint the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, the Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and
Sarawak, Judge of the Supreme Court and many others. Not to mention, YdP is also the head of
Islam for his state as well as for states that do not have a sultan, namely Malacca, Penang, Sabah,
Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. As the head of the
Islamic religion, YdP is responsible for appointing religious leaders to guide people in religious
affar and ensure that the people loyal to the kings rule. Other than that, it is the responsibility of
YdP to maintain and safeguard the special position of the Malays, indigenous of Sabah and
Sarawak and the legitimate right of other communities such as Indians and Chinese in
accordance with the provisions of the constitution. So, the YdP is the main pillar of our countrys
success in upholding justice system in Malaysia and in order to preserve our heritage.
The power of the Federal legislative lies in the countrys parliament. Parliament consists
of the Yang di-Pertuan Agung and two councils, namely the Senate and the House of
Representatives. Yang di-Pertuan Agong plays an important role as he has the power to
command the parliament to meet anytime. He also has the power to dissolve or dismiss the
parliament. In the book Malaysia Asas Pembinaan Negara Bangsa, Institusi Pemerintahan
Lambang Kebangsaan, by a writer named Chamil Wariya, it is written that Yang di-Pertuan
Agong will be allocated 60 days to give his assent to the bill. The first 30 days is to put his views
and suggestions and send it to parliament to be discussed and approved again while the next 30
days to give his consent. Ydp also required to seal the bill which approved by the legislature.
Therefore, the role of the king in the legislative branch is indeed not to be doubted.
As the chief justice, YdP has the power to grant amnesty, reprives and respites or of
remitting, suspending or commuting sentences to an offender. Hence, the YdP also plays the role
as head of the national army. The main responsibility of the Armed Forces is to defend nationas
security. Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) is divided into three service branches, namely the
Malaysian Army Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air force. The YdP
is also responsible in selecting the chief of Armed forces, a professional head to lead the Armed
Forces and the majority of the members of the Armed Forces council is on YdP disappointment.
So, it is crystal clear that our countrys safety lies in the wise choices of our YdP.
The YdP plays a variety of roles to ensure the welfare of our country, though he still
faces many challenges. one of the biggest challenges that faced by the Malay rulers is to build
confidence in the role of the king and the monarchy itself. This is because the perception of
the people about the monarchy is still fragile. So when they do not understand the concept of a
constitutional monarchy, they seem to be lack of conviction and sceptical about the role of the
king. As a result, the confidence of the people in the role and existence of the king start to fade
and their loyalty not only towards the YdP but even towards the country also diminish. This
problem becomes more severe when the different political ideologies begin to circulate into the
community. Different political ideologies of the various parties often confuse the people.
opinions such as these should be eliminated. People should be given exposure to the system of
government of our country and the role of the monarchy so that they do not doubt the future
of the country.
 In addition, the lack of patriotism among the people is also a challenge for our kings. The
king is the pillar of unity among Malaysians because he is the authority and unity of the country.
Therefore, we should give him strong support so that the king can continue to rule the country
well but what would happen if the people refuse to support what would happen if the people
have no loyalty towards the king. The answer can be obtained if we look back to the past. The
glory of Malacca is known by everyone but only a few know the reasons for such a sovereign
country to collapse. People of Malacca began to lose spirit of
patrioticand cultivate values that are not good within themselves. That is the reason why the
government of Malacca destroyed. The lessons that we can learn from this is when one loses the
spirit of patriotism, it means he had lost his civic identity. Now the words of wisdom of George
Santayana, a philosopher that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it
had been proven. Therefore, we must be citizens who are knowledgeable in the history of our
country, enhance the spirit of patriotism and forever give support to our king.

In conclusion, the role of the Malay rulers has evolved over time as themonarchy system.
Indeed, the constitutional monarchy is our tradition and there7s no need for us to doubt that
system. So, as our second principle of the Rukun Negara says, lets have loyalty to our king and
country as it leads to prosperity of our country. May the Malay rulers and Ydp remain as
potent symbols of our countrys sovereignty.