Its mystique and majesty were witnessed last Friday when the Conference of Rulers elected the Sultan of Johor as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Sultan of Perak as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The rules relating to the election of the federal King and Deputy King are found in Articles 32, 33, 38(2) and the Third and Fifth Schedules of the Constitution.
The rules are exceedingly complex and constitutional conventions have further added to their richness. Their salient features are as follow.
Who chooses? Though according to the Fifth Schedule, the Conference of Rulers consists of the nine Malay Rulers as well as the governors of Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, only the Rulers of the nine Malay states are eligible to vote and get elected. The governors of Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak are ineligible to vote for or be elected to the high office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Who may be chosen? Under the Third Schedule, a Ruler is qualified to be elected as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong except in three circumstances. First, if he is a minor. Second, if he has notified the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal that he does not desire to be elected. In 1957, for example, the Sultan of Johor, due to old age, stood down in favour of the next eligible Ruler. Third, if at least five members of the Conference of Rulers have, by secret ballot, resolved that a Ruler is unsuitable by reason of infirmity of mind or body or for any other cause to exercise the functions of the King’s office.
Rotation: Their Majesties are required to observe a rotational rule to ensure that every Ruler (who is willing and suitable) has an opportunity to become the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before any state occupies the federal throne twice. For this reason, a Yang di-Pertuan Agong cannot be re-elected to continue beyond his five-year term.
For the purpose of the rotation, an election list is maintained. For the first election in 1957, the list put the Rulers in the order of the date of their accession to their state’s throne.
In his book, An Introduction to the Constitution of Malaysia, the late Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim, former Lord President of the Federal Court, informed us that the list had this precedence: Johor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perak. Although Johor and Pahang were high up on the list, the federal throne was offered by the Conference of Rulers to Negri Sembilan because the Sultan of Johor had declined due to old age, and the then Ruler of Pahang was not supported by his brother Rulers.
In accordance with the Third Schedule, the office is offered to the qualified and willing Ruler first on the list. If he does not accept, then to the Ruler next on the list and so on. Once elected, the Ruler’s state moves to the bottom of the list.
Under section 4(2)(b), whenever there is a change in the Ruler of a State, the State is transferred to the end of the list. In practice, however, this rule has not prevented the Conference of Rulers from offering the federal throne to any State Ruler who is qualified under section 1(1) of the Third Schedule. It appears that by constitutional convention, the Conference of Rulers almost always adheres to the rotation rule.
Voting is by secret ballot and a simple majority of five out of nine Sultans is needed to disqualify or elect a Ruler.
Tenth and subsequent elections: When all states have taken their turn to grace the office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the election list is then reconstituted in accordance with section 4(3) of the Third Schedule.
States are placed in the order in which their Rulers have occupied the office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Unique features: The Malaysian monarchy is rather unique because of the elective and short-term nature of royal position at the federal level. Another remarkable feature is that a time-lapse is allowed between the end of one reign and the commencement of another.
In England, the rule is that “the monarch never dies”. On the death, removal or abdication of one monarch, the successor assumes office retrospectively to the date on which the vacancy arose.
This is not so in Malaysia, where five times (twice in 1960, once in 1979, 2001 and 2019) on the death or resignation of the federal sovereign, the new King’s reign commenced a few weeks after the vacancy arose. Perhaps this is because the Constitution provides for a Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong to fill the breach till a new election is held.
Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong: On the creation of a vacancy, the deputy King does not automatically ascend to the throne. Under Article 33(3), if the post of the King falls vacant, the deputy acts on his behalf till the office of the King is filled, at which time the deputy King’s term expires as well.
But there is no bar to a Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong being reappointed to the post. Sultan Nazrin Shah, the erudite Sultan of Perak, was elected to serve with the Sultan of Kelantan in 2016, then again to serve with the Sultan of Pahang in 2019 and now to serve with the Sultan of Johor from 2024 onwards.
As the nation salutes the outgoing King for his momentous reign and welcomes the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong and his deputy, we hope and pray for Their Majesties’ tested and tried leadership to promote harmony, unity and peace in our lives and our beloved land.
Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair at Universiti Malaya. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
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