We have seen the completion of the first 'cycle' of turns for the office of Agong according to each state's representation. The second 'round' started with the ascension of the present ruler of Negeri Sembilan and the late Sultan of Selangor. According to precedent, the next Agong should be the Raja of Perlis.

One must not forget that the ruler of Negeri Sembilan was the Deputy Agong for two terms. HRH had to make way for the sultans of Johor and Perak as they had not had turns as Agong. Thus, a Deputy Agong is not the automatic choice to succeed the incumbent. Apart from precedent, ideally the succession of the Agong should be based on the experience and maturity of the Sultan.

Many unaware that there are other issues people in Terengganu are concerned with. Being a youthful 39 and having been ruler for less than three years, the present Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin has a lot to learn about the trappings of the royal institution of his state.

When asked to temporary assume the task of Agong while he was overseas in September, Sultan Mizan shocked his subjects by appointing an unknown non-family member - his religious teacher Syed Omar Abdul Kadir al-Idrus - as the Pemangku Raja (acting Sultan) of Terengganu. By this precedent, he had ruffled feathers, in the whole institution of monarchy beyond Terengganu's borders.

It is also known that the PAS government was concerned about the appointment but it was the Sultan's sole privilege under the constitution. To this day, Syed Omar is still on the Majlis Pemangku Raja.

Sultan Mizan was made the Acting Agong in October. Thus he had to appoint a Pemangku again. After much family protests during the first Pemangku's appointment, the present Acting Agong appointed his younger brother as the Ketua Majlis Pemangku Raja this time.

However, he still appointed Syed Omar and his student, Ku Bahar (also not from the Terengganu royal family) as members of the Majlis Pemangku Raja. This renders the appointment of his brother as mere window dressing. The other Malaysian royal households view this with much anxiety and concern.

If the Barisan Nasional government has any concern about Sultan Mizan being a 'PAS sympathiser', then rest assured that this is not even an issue. I believe the PAS state government is just as troubled by the turn of events.