A royal balancing force
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah is very tuned-in to the complex issues of Selangor. No subject was off the table as he sat down with The Star team comprising CEO Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, deputy executive editor Loong Meng Yee, associate editor Joceline Tan
FROM afar, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah comes across as a stern-faced monarch. He is not a natural smiler and he walks like a military man – long strides and fists clenched.
But up-close, he is actually an engaging person, quite without airs and surprisingly easy to talk to. And, most surprising of all, he is forthright and does not beat around the bush.
One would not be wrong to think that the royals live in gilded cages but the Sultan of Selangor is very much tuned in to what is going on in his state and the country, be it politics or development and social issues.
He is among the most experienced Malay Rulers which is a good thing given the highoctane politics of Selangor. He goes through at least six newspapers a day and tries to keep tabs on what is in the blogs and news portals.
The last time Sultan Sharafuddin met The Star in 2014 was in conjunction with his 69th birthday. He had just been through one of the most stressful years of his reign grappling with the Mentri Besar crisis in his state.
When reminded of that, he laughed and said this has been a remarkably smooth year for him.
The interview this time around was to mark his 72nd birthday tomorrow and it was scheduled at the Istana Bukit Kayangan in Shah Alam which meant that everyone had to come in formal attire – dark suits, tie and songkok for the men and baju kurung for the ladies.
The Istana Bukit Kayangan is not terribly grand by palace standards but it has an old world charm – lots of timber features, chandeliers glittering overhead, crystal and silver ware on every surface and portraits on the walls.
The palace is mainly for official functions and appointments. Beyond the reception room where the interview took place is an odd-shaped swimming pool which looks like it is rarely used.
But the location is something else – it has an away from the madding crowd feel about it although it is situated amid the urban buzz of Shah Alam.
Everyone stood around, looking formal and talking in hushed tones as we waited for Tuanku.
Then, guess what, the Sultan breezed in looking rather casual yet smart in a white open-neck shirt, dark slacks, navy blue jacket with a gold royal crest pinned on the lapel and expensive-looking shoes.
He has slimmed down and looked great for someone about to turn 72.
There is also a certain air of contentment about the Sultan these days, and it probably has something to do with his marriage last year to Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin after, as he put it, “20 years as a single man”.
It is his third marriage and the second for the beautiful and elegant former TV news presenter. The nuptials caught many Selangoreans by surprise when the palace announced it in a brief press statement.
The Sultan handled the whole thing with a deft touch and a great deal of dignity. He has also prepared his new consort for life in the complex system of court life with some straight-forward advice – don’t change, stay true to yourself and be aware that there are always jealous people out there.
He is currently reading a book on British war hero General Montgomery whom he finds to be a man of great foresight because many of the things that Montgomery anticipated back in the 1960s are happening now.
He has also been reading up on the British royal family.
“I find it amazing. The Queen and Prince Philip, their marriage of 70 years is still intact. I think you can learn from other people’s mistakes. I tell my son to avoid the mistakes other people make and to learn from the good things they do,” he said.
A comment about his dapper look and thick mane of hair led to an unusually frank and amusing account of his penchant for cold showers.
He simply cannot stand taking hot baths. It makes him feel uncomfortable, even unwell, and he takes cold showers even when he is overseas during winter. He recalled that when he was sailing around the world on his yacht in 1995, his crew members enjoyed all the hot water while he stuck to cold showers.
He does not have any secrets to share about all that hair on his head which is a contrast to the thinning hairlines of his friends. He used to shampoo his hair with baby shampoo but now uses whatever is available.
The Sultan was in a sanguine mood for much of the interview except when the conversation shifted to the way religious and racial issues have been played up by both sides of the political divide.
That was when the smiles disappeared and his tone turned serious. And that was also when it became clear that he has strong opinions on what is happening around him.
The Malay Rulers, he said, are very concerned when politicians play up religious and racial issues. They have taken a strong stand on the Muslim laundrette issue in Johor which they see as taking religion down the extreme road.
“Do they know how a laundry machine works? Or how every wash involves three rounds of water? If you don’t agree to the laundrette, then wash your own clothes or get your own washing machine. Don’t create issues because the politicians will jump on it and other people will follow,” he said.
The Sultan has also been unimpressed by all the U-turns that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has taken over the last few years.
The former premier’s careless remarks about Bugis pirates still rankles. The Selangor sultanate has Bugis roots and the Masjid Raja Haji Fi Sabilillah in Cyberjaya is named after one of his Bugis ancestors.
But the Sultan is not into knee-jerk reactions. He was on his way to perform the umrah, and it was only when he returned that he asked for the facts, mulled over it and returned fire.
The Star’s reports on Tuesday carried Sultan Sharafuddin’s misgivings and rebuttal to Dr Mahathir’s Bugis remarks which the palace regarded as insulting and disrespectful. The palace even wanted the police to investigate Dr Mahathir under the Sedition Act.
He also dropped a bombshell when he said that all nine Rulers feel the same way about Dr Mahathir since the 92-year-old politician’s return to active politics.
“To build up a good name is very difficult, to destroy is too easy. Mahathir was there for 22 years, it was not by his own effort. The party put him there and now he wants to destroy the party.
“He thought his 22 years were so big. He does not want any other Prime Minister to do better than him and tries to push them down. That’s why I say he has an inferiority complex,” he said.
Sultan Sharafuddin insisted that he is not into revenge but from his conversation on Dr Mahathir, it seems like he has not forgotten the hurts and insults suffered by the royals when Dr Mahathir amended the Constitution to curb their powers.
More than that, it was the way that Dr Mahathir did it – the public humiliation day in and day out in the mainstream media and TV stations and at public rallies.
“All the newspapers hit us. I was very upset, I asked my father why can’t we hit back. I’m not sure about the other Rulers but my father said no, we cannot expose to the world what he is doing to us, so we kept quiet,” he said.
He still remembers what his father the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah said about Dr Mahathir: “Today is his day, tomorrow will be our day”.
That day seems to have come.
The Sultan’s dream for Selangor is that the government-of-the-day must try to meet the people’s needs especially in providing affordable housing, good educational facilities, healthcare, good public transport and infrastructure.
He is terribly excited about a proposal to build a medical centre for cardiology cases in Shah Alam that will provide free service for Selangoreans.
“Religion should be a guideline for us to do good things. We have to make sure that it does not go into extremes,” he said.
Is this a happy time, turning 72 and after 16 years on the throne?
“I am always happy. I enjoy challenges,” said the people’s Sultan.