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Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah emerges as major political force amid turmoil
- Since independence, the country’s monarchs mainly performed ceremonial functions like swearing-in ministers or pardoning criminal convicts
- But with an administration that is one of the weakest in history, the king’s decisions have become crucial in determining whether the PM stays or goes
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Bloombergin Kuala Lumpur
After decades in the background of Malaysia’s national politics, the monarchy has moved to centre stage to fill a power vacuum this year.
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King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad, who ascended the throne last year, stepped into the political fray back in February when a two-year-old government abruptly collapsed. He resolved the impasse by tapping Muhyiddin Yassin to become the next prime minister without a parliamentary vote. Since then Muhyiddin’s majority has regularly been questioned, and the country’s top politicians have sought meetings with the king while vying for power.
For Malaysia, where one coalition ruled for six straight decades until the 2018 election, it is relatively new for the monarch to play such a prominent role in politics. The nine members of the Conference of Rulers, who rotate power among themselves, have since the country’s independence from British rule mainly performed ceremonial functions like swearing-in ministers or pardoning criminal convicts.
But now, with the government holding at best a two-vote majority in parliament, the king’s decisions have become crucial in determining whether Muhyiddin’s administration stays or goes. The monarch has the constitutional power to appoint a prime minister or deny a request to dissolve parliament for an election, which in normal times merely confirms the outcome of a vote or the sitting government’s recommendation.
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The lack of a clear mandate for the current prime minister now gives the king more weight, including when he makes statements on policy matters like the budget or the right coronavirus response.
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