Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah wants the people to understand that democracy must come with strong rule of law.

He said democracy without the strong rule of law is merely demagoguery by another name.

Voters, he said, must understand that their responsibility towards democracy and rule of law does not end at the ballot boxes.

Sultan Nazrin said this at the International Malaysia Law Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

"A healthy and functioning democracy is not just one that gives voice to different constituencies at election time, as noisy and fractious as this process may be.

"Rather, it is one which the law creates a boundary beyond which none, no matter how powerful, may trespass without penalty.

"Citizens must grasp that a robust rule of law means they cannot pick and choose amongst judicial decisions, supporting only those which favour their own interests, and rejecting the very concept of the rule of law when it goes against them.

"A 'whole-hearted society' approach, in contrast, requires that all develop an innate respect for the rule of law and for legal institutions, even when individual rulings contravene their own interests," he said.

Sultan Nazrin said he recognised that restoring the rule of law is a far greater challenge than destroying it.

Acknowledging that the present government wants to undertake the necessary institutional reforms and uphold the rule of law, His Royal Highness shared four ideas about what these deeper reforms should entail.

Firstly, he pointed out that there must be proper separation of powers to be implemented completely and as effectively as possible within the limits of the governing systems.

Secondly, he proposed the formation of a bipartisan select committee as practised in the Commonwealth so that reports by the committee are given sufficient attention by the executive.

Next, Malaysia should accede to and ratify existing international instruments to ensure closer national compliance to them.

Finally, he outlined the developing of a "whole-of-society' approach as he mentioned above, where people respect the rule of law regardless of whether the judgment falls into their favour or otherwise.

The ruler added the challenge to democracy is maintaining key institutions, and noted that this year Freedom House report sees 75 countries suffer a decline while slightly more than 30 countries had managed to rise up the scale.

Nazrin who is also the deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, said with the institutional reforms undertaken by the new government, it is hoped that Malaysia would register a net gain next year.

He emphasised that the International Commission of Jurists had voiced concerns that executive interference and corruption is undermining the rule of law, and stressed on the need to curb and resolve it.