your say 'The proper procedure will be for the court or the Council of Succession to first declare the sultan as having a serious illness or handicap. The way it has been done leaves a bad taste for everyone.'

 

New K'tan sultan proclaimed

JBGUY: Under the circumstances, this is the right move and Tengku Muhammad Faris is the most qualified, so it is hoped that all will accept it with an open heart. Daulat Tuanku. I would hope for you to show all the other rulers of their role in this country and to be impartial and always protect your rakyat.

Prof: Since the sultan has been so helplessly sick for more than a year, with no sign of betterment, it is indeed wise to have the eldest son, Tengku Faris, to ascend to the throne soonest possible.

Obviously the others, including his younger brother and other 'political masters' who are against it are either having personal interest or other political/hidden interest. Tengku Faris has always been attached to the rakyat, well-educated, yet so humble and perhaps the best sultan you could ever find in Malaysia.

Kee Thuan Chye: This is the same Tengku Faris reported in Malaysiakini of April 12, 2008: "Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra said today that Malays had been coerced into giving non-Malays citizenship and non-Malays should therefore not seek equality or special treatment. He said this during his keynote speech at a forum titled ‘Malay unity is the core of national unity' organised by the newly-formed Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur today.

"In his speech, Tengku Faris said the 12th General Election results have shown that the Malays are being ‘challenged' and thus Malays unity is of the outmost priority. As the constitution provides that the Malays are the natives (penduduk asal) of Malaysia, Tengku Faris said every Malay must defend the constitution and Islam, and this can only be achieved through Malay unity."

Keturunan Malaysia: Correct, Kee Thuan Chye and I thought that was a bad mistake he made and I said so then without mincing my words. What is important is not to repeat the mistake again. As someone said, without the rakyat, there is no sultan but without the sultan, the rakyat will still be there

Sandakan: The proper and correct procedure will be for the court or the Council of Succession to first declare the sultan as having a serious illness or handicap. After that, have an announcement that the regent will be declared the new sultan. The way it has been done, in secret and with haste, leaves a bad taste for everyone.

Ferdtan: I can't help to be bemused, or rather amused, by the parallel between the royal fight for the throne in Kelantan - while the king is still alive, albeit at death's door - and the bitter fight for inheritance in most very rich tycoons' families. Similarly, before they had buried their father, the squabbles will begin.

In the Kelantan royal family, team A consists of the regent (eldest son), the Tengku Bendahara (second son), and two of the sultan's elder sisters and team B, the Raja Perempuan (mother), the Tengku Temenggong (third son) and the sultan's eldest sister.

The break-up of the whole family is all due to greed - greed of power and wealth. We, the commoners, are lucky - we have something they don't, the priceless love of our family.

Nazri: Council has final say on Kelantan sultan

Kgen: The court may have no power to interfere under the Kelantan constitution but this is only if Umno decides not to interfere. The court also has no power to interfere in decisions taken in the Perak state assembly but this didn't stop them.

Although Abdul Aziz Bari may be correct in principle, the real interpretation lies with Umno. You think a piece of paper will stop Umno? They can trample on the Perak constitution with impunity. We are not ruled by law but by Umno thugs.

Lover Boy: I disagree with the views expressed by Abdul Aziz Bari and also Nazri. The example of Negri Sembilan is a case of succession after the Yang Di Pertuan Besar passes away. The issue of the next rulers are left to the Undangs to decide.

In the case of Kelantan, we are talking of a sultan who is still alive and his mental faculty is still functioning. He only had a stroke, how can the Council of Succession now come in and declare a new sultan? This cannot be and this is tantamount to usurping the powers of the sultan.

Such issues most definitely are justiciable in the courts. Please note that Tengku Faris may be a good man as compared to Tengku Fakhry but that is not the point and this must be challenged.

Call me Jibby: Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, can you explain to me the Perak throne succession method? From history textbooks, for one to become a sultan, he has first to be Raja Di Hilir (RDH), then Raja Bendahara (RB) and Raja Muda (RM).

When a sultan passes away, his son will be the next RDH, the current RDH will be RB, the current RB will be RM, and the current RM will be the sultan. Thus, there should be three royal families in the Perak throne.

Why is there only one family controlling the throne? Where have the RDH and RB gone? How come the son of the current sultan is the RM?

Avatar: Just to answer the comments made by ‘Call Me Jibby'. I am Perakian and would say an admirer or rather ex-admirer of Sultan Azlan Shah. But after the Perak debacle, I lost any respect for the sultan or even the RM (Raja Muda).

To Call Me Jibby's comments - yes, there are three successions before the sultan is proclaimed. As the colours of Perak flag represents white, yellow and black - there are indirect representation of white for Sultan, yellow for RM and Black for RDH (Raja Di Hilir). RB (Raja Bendahara) is not in the representations.

I still recall that Perak is unique when it comes to royal successions as there are three families. With Sultan Idris Shah's demise in 1984, Sultan Azlan succeeded him. At that moment, there was another RM and another RDH. Raja Nazrin was not in the picture then, and he was RB.

After some years, the RM passed away and by right the RDH was suppose to succeed, but he refused citing health reason. Raja Nazrin, who was fourth in line, jumped to RM. As far we know, there was no hanky panky.

 

The above are a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only Malaysiakini subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .