ORIGINS OF THE ROYAL CONFERENCE OF RULERS
The recent short-lived impasse regarding the appointment of the new Attorney General triggers Alan Teh Leam Seng’s interest to learn more about the origin and heritage of the Conference of Rulers
‘RULERS call meeting over A-G impasse.’ This headline which appeared on the front page of the newspapers recently caught the attention of millions of concerned Malaysians. Like them, I was also equally perturbed by the accompanying report stating that the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, had already sent out the invitation letters to the Malay Sultans
The stalemate regarding the appointment of the new Attorney General was indeed a serious matter and many were worried that a protracted disagreement between Putrajaya and Istana Negara would hurt the new government’s plans to put our nation back on even keel.
Fortunately though, the potential crisis was defused overnight when the Yang diPertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V gave his consent for the appointment of veteran lawyer and constitutional expert Tommy Thomas to the important judicial post.
By the next morning, many Malaysians throughout the country were relieved to learn about that wonderful turn of events. While the planned meeting of the Malay Rulers at Istana Negara was duly cancelled, the outcome of this episode piqued my interest, enough to want to learn more about the early history of the Conference of Rulers. So off to the public library I headed to conduct some research.
THE BEGINNINGS
Sifting through the large collection of related books, it quickly becomes obvious that the ancestors of today’s Malay Rulers were once absolute monarchs who wielded full legislative, executive and judicial powers. With the assistance of various categories of titular officials, the monarchs ran their kingdoms according to their own policies and laws.
In the 14th century Melaka Sultanate, these officials were headed by the Bendahara, the equivalent of our modern day Prime Minister. It was the highest-ranking office that could be held by any commoner in Melaka at that time.
Directly below the Bendahara came the Penghulu Bendahari (state treasurer), Temenggong (chief of police and state security) and Laksamana (head of the navy). The lowest rung of this nobility structure comprised the four Shahbandars (harbour masters), one for each of the main trading groups doing business at the port.
Looking at the wealth of literature available, it’s clear that the Portuguese and Dutch occupations of Melaka in the 16th and 17th centuries had little impact on this traditional structure. However, things began to change with the arrival of the British, starting with Captain Francis Light’s establishment of a colony in Penang on July 17, 1786.
Despite their continued presence in the Malay Archipelago, it took the British a further 88 years to gain a proper foothold in the affairs of the Malay states. That turning point happened with the signing of the Pangkor Treaty between Perak’s Raja Abdullah and the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Andrew Clarke on board HMS Pluto on Jan 20, 1874.
SPREAD OF BRITISH INFLUENCE
From that time onwards, British influence began to spread rapidly across the Malay peninsula. The Malay Sultans, despite still remaining sovereign Rulers, were obliged by treaty to accept the advice of either the Resident or Advisor appointed to them on all matters except those pertaining to the Islamic religion as well as Malay customs and welfare.
Even before the British managed to accomplish absolute political control throughout the peninsula, they’d already begun consolidating their administrative position by means of merging the states that were already in their grasp.
The union of the four centrally located Malay states on July 1, 1896 led to the birth of the Federated Malay States (FMS). Under this new hierarchy, Sultan Abdul Samad (Selangor), Sultan Idris Murshidul ‘Adzam Shah (Perak), Yamtuan Tuanku Muhammad Shah (Negri Sembilan) and Sultan Ahmad Mu’adzam Shah (Pahang) were presided over by the powerful British Resident General.