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Strategic Issues Forum (SIF)/Corporate Malaysia
Roundtable (CMR) Royal Luncheon ADDRESS
ASLI Director Dato Chew Chee Kin greeting the Regent of Negri Sembilan.
ASLI Director and Chairman Strategic Issues Forum Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam presenting a memento
to HRH The Regent.
HRH The Regent of Negri Sembilan delivering his Royal Address.
On November 26, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur, SIF/
CMR organised a Special Royal Luncheon Address on “The Role of the
Constitutional Monarchy in 21st Century Malaysia” with D.Y.M.M Tunku
Naquiyuddin bin Tuanku Ja’afar, The Regent of Negeri Sembilan. The
luncheon was well attended by corporate figures, Ambassadors, High
Commissioners and NGOs and several civil societies.
The Royal Address was apt and timely as recently the Conference of
Rulers issued a Statement calling on Malaysians to abide by the Social
Contract, which provides protection for all Malaysians. The Institution of
the Malay Royalty is another key pillar in the Constitution of Malaysia - the
other key pillars being Parliament (the Legislature), the Government (the
Executive), and the Judiciary. Recently, HRH The Sultan of Selangor and
HRH Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah, the Raja Muda of Perak have come to the
forefront with their public pronouncements. The Malay Rulers constitute
a key Institution in the Malaysian Constitution.
HRH Tunku Naquiyuddin has called on royal immunity to be reinstated
so that the constitutional monarchy can be restored to its full sovereignty.
He added that if the Ruler were to exercise his duties in a fair, just and
impartial manner to protect the Federal Constitution, his sovereignty
needed to be protected too. The restoration would enable the
constitutional monarchy to play a more fitting role in the 21st century
as guardian of the Federal Constitution. He added that this was so the
Dato Dr. Michael Yeoh with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.
endeavor to safeguard the interests of all communities, promote peace,
prosperity, economic security and good governance could be fulfilled.
Tunku Naquiyuddin also stated that the full immunity from civil and
criminal proceedings should be reconsidered so that they are on par with
other constitutional monarchs around the world but there should also be
guidelines where immunity should not be given to rulers who physically
abused the people. He added that it was ironic that judges were immune
in the performance of their judicial functions but Rulers were not. He
urged that we bring back the immunity, debate it and define it.
HRH also added that the loss of immunity was perhaps the single biggest
setback to the institution of the Ruler as there are a lot of people that
were grateful where the country had Rulers to intervene in matters of
interest because they did not want them messed up by politicians. He
said a Ruler was a personage who had the keen sense of what the rakyat
wanted.
Politicians, as he added on, have a lot of self-interest and self-motivation,
greed and corruption. Rulers become some sort of referee to instinctively
come in to safeguard the constitution. HRH Tunku concluded that,
sovereignty and immunity have always been symbiotic. It really becomes
nonsensical that a sovereign Ruler can be taken to court for trying to
protect the best interests of the nation and the people.
Corporate Malaysia Roundtable Advisory Council Member Tan Sri Kishu Tirathrai with the Ambassadors
of Ireland, Namibia, Norway and Russia.
Dato Chew Chee Kin, Tengku Panglima Besar Negri Sembilan, Singapore High Commissioner Jesudasan,
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Datuk Joseph Adaikalam.
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