Upholding worthy traditions

THE arrival of Ramadan as usual brings welcome respite from a calendar that, since the transition to Covid endemicity, was remarkably full. The last few weeks have seen meetings being crammed, travel commitments being fulfilled and overdue weddings being celebrated in full force.

Overall, the beginning of the holy month in the Hijri year 1443 now approximately resembles the pre-Covid experience in 2019 (1440). In 2020, the Movement Control Order prevented all usual traditions from being observed, while 2021 still did not feature the normal practice of breaking fast at different mosques throughout the month. Indeed, the twentieth night of Ramadan (which is usually observed with particular attention) was memorable for the receipt of the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.

This year, more pre-Covid traditions are being restored to the month’s activities: most significantly, the practice of terawih prayers with communities around the Luak Tanah Mengandung (the area of Negeri Sembilan around the royal capital of Seri Menanti under the jurisdiction of Penghulus answerable to the Yang diPertuan Besar, rather than to an Undang or the Tunku Besar Tampin). Naturally, many are praying that open houses will make a return this year.

In many ways, royal legacies continue to inform how Malaysian Muslims observe their religious traditions. Perhaps the most obvious manifestation of this is the television announcement of the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal of key dates in the Islamic calendar, but the histories go much further back. The 1898 Agreement signed between the Yang di-Pertuan Besar (then Tuanku Muhammad Shah ibni Yamtuan Antah) and the four Undangs that restored the “ancient constitution of Negeri Sembilan” dedicates an entire clause to the festivals of Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji being celebrated according to previous custom as well.

The beginning of Ramadan this year coincided with the anniversary of the death of Tuanku Abdul Rahman Tuanku Muhammad Shah, the eighth Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, who was also elected as the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of the Federation of Malaya (and of course the monarch who adorns our currency).

Looking back at the historical record – and hearing the recollections of relatives who witnessed the event – it is clear that new protocols had to be quickly established, as the death of a federal monarch had no precedent: thus fascinating details such as the national flag (then not yet known as the Jalur Gemilang, and three stripes shorter than present) draped with the Agong’s royal standard being replaced by the Negeri Sembilan flag and personal royal standard upon the coffin’s arrival at the Seremban railway station, to symbolise the federal government “returning” the late Ruler to his home state. The photographs and news reports show that the nation was united in national mourning for a king who so effectively encapsulated old adat traditions with modern understandings of parliamentary democracy, particularly given his legal training at the Inner Temple in London and subsequent professional experience both in law and the civil service.

In his royal address opening the Malayan Parliament in 1959, the late monarch urged MPs to “approach your deliberations as law-makers in the highest spirit of dedicated service to our nation”, that “you are the representatives of all the people without exception”, and that “the future of this Parliament will be followed with keen interest and goodwill.”

Next week a special parliamentary sitting is scheduled to pass anti-hopping legislation (via an amendment to the Federal Constitution). Overwhelmingly there is a desire to prevent the practice of party hopping that has so blighted our democracy. But the specifics do matter. For example, it is not ideal that the expulsion of an MP from their party will automatically trigger a by-election: it gives already powerful party leaders even more power over their backbenchers. It would be far better to democratise party selection instead. Still, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater: an imperfect law can be improved later, particularly if the culture of active select committees is able to mature.

The memorandum of understanding that has led to this and other vital reforms begins with two paragraphs acknowledging royal commands for bipartisanship and administrative stability. Indeed, at a time of political uncertainty and potential instability, it is the Rulers who have enabled reforms to empower the institutions that represent the Rakyat.

Far from ahistorical notions of “feudalism” (a misnomer since that is a European phenomenon), I am proud that Tuanku Muhammad and Tuanku Abdul Rahman championed the establishment of educational, military, sports and charitable institutions that “protected” their people not through fear and xenophobia, but through empowerment and enlightenment.

Continued institutional reform is a worthy successor of this tradition.