I've long had a generally low opinion of royalty, seeing its remnants around the world as relics of a long-gone and largely unlamented pre-democratic era.

Not that I've ever been an advocate of decapitating the nobility, as the French so enthusiastically did during their revolution, or of shooting them down like dogs, as the Russian revolutionaries did the last Czar and his family almost a century ago.

But I confess I've been happy to see most of the world's hereditary rulers driven by their former subjects into impotency and irrelevance, as has happened most recently in Nepal. And I question even the validity and value of their survival, as in England, for example, as publicly-funded figureheads, curiosities and tourist attractions.

I also have to admit, however, that my democratic sentiments sometimes become an embarrassment. As when the current, long-reigning and much-revered King of Thailand rescues his nation from danger or disaster by issuing one of his rare but very reasonable decrees.

Or, as happened just the other day in Malaysia, a member of royalty demonstrates a true understanding of both the substance and the spirit of the phrase noblesse oblige.

In declining the offer of state funds to pay for his wedding to Zara Davidson, the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, showed himself not just the considerable scholar that his many academic achievements proclaim him to be, but a consummate gentleman to boot.

Declaring that he would personally bear the entire cost of the wedding and also of a public dinner to mark the event, so that the public funds earmarked for the festivities could be spent on developments for the people.

Parliamentary leaks

And he especially endeared himself to me personally by requesting that organizations not waste their money on those groveling newspaper ads that some people pay for to crawl to personages on special occasions or for performing opening ceremonies on their behalf.

So I'm delighted to sincerely wish Raja Dr Nazrin Shah and his consort a long, happy and fruitful life together, and to selectively set aside my democratic instincts and prejudices in doing so.

In any case, even if this particular member of royalty hadn't shown himself so worthy of popular respect and regard, my already shaky faith in democracy, at least as it's practiced in Malaysia, has taken another beating this week, in the affair of the parliamentary leaks.

As everybody in Malaysia and I hope around the world knows by now, the MP for Jasin, Mohd Said Yusof, and the MP for Kinabatangan, Bung Mokhtar Radin insulted the MP for Gajah, Fong Poh Kuan with the comment that she "leaked every month" in response to her remarks concerning the leaking roof of the recently-refurbished Parliament building.

There was no demur whatever from the demure ladies of Barisan Nasional following this inexcusably sexist slur; the Speaker of the House declined to censure the offenders; and Said Yusof flatly refused to apologise on the curious and spurious grounds that the Malay word he had used, "bocor", can as well mean "urinate" as "menstruate".

Naturally there was a tremendous outcry about such atrocious behaviour towards a woman, especially in the week before Mother's Day, and calls for the Prime Minister to punish the offenders for their crass and boorish comments.

But no such Prime-Ministerial punishment appears to be forthcoming. And why would it be? People like Said Yusof, Bung Mokhtar and their Barisan Nasional colleagues of all genders who thumped their tables with glee at their affront to Ms Fong might well be ignorant, but they're not stupid.

Achieving the BN agenda

In fact, as we Australians say in our vulgar way, they're as cunning as shithouse rats. Resorting to whatever it takes from obfuscation and barefaced falsehoods to insults and naked intimidation to achieve the BN agenda.

In this case, as several others before me have noted, the task in hand was to distract the nation's attention from defects in over-priced, under-maintained public buildings, not to mention the six-month, RM22 million inspection process instigated by the indefatigable Minister for Works, Samy Vellu, and the question of who but the poor, put-upon public will eventually pay for repairs.

And the diversion of everyone's attention from leaking roofs to leaking females did the trick nicely, at least from what I see or don't see - in the miserable "mainstream" media.

Never mind that this ridiculous affair has left Said Yusof and Bung Mokhtar looking like a pair of drips and brought the nation's legislative body into even further dishonour.

As if it wasn't enough of a disgrace that at least two MPs branded by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir as corrupt, the aforementioned Samy Vellu and International Trade and Industry Minister, Rafidah Aziz, are still serving in their portfolios.

And that one of the two "leak" artists, Said Yusof, remains to be properly investigated for claims that he last year asked customs to "close one eye" to illegal shipments of timber.

The persistence of such people in parliament is an insult to both the institution itself and to the integrity and intelligence of the people of this country.

And all the more reason to celebrate the fact, as much as it goes against my egalitarian grain, that such overwhelming ignominy is occasionally relieved by nobility.

Whether nobility of birth and breeding, as shown by Raja Dr Nazrin Shah on the occasion of his marriage, or nobility of spirit and intellect as also demonstrated this week by Dr Kua Kia Soong of Suaram and New Era College with the release of his revelatory book, ' May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 '.