The Constituitional Monarchy System
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| The Royal Headgear " Dendam Tak Sudah" |
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| The New Istana Negara - Jalan Duta |
The Constitutional
Monarchy System
What most of us didn't
know, or just refuse to accept the fact that,the real movers towards
the independence of Malaya are not only the effort of so called
political parties, academician,religious group and any organizations
during the colonial era. The Royal house of all the Sultans of the
states in Malaya at that time pursue the common objective for an
independence. We must not forget our founding father of Independence
Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman and the late Tun Abdul Razak who is a
member of Pahang royalty, where is father Dato Hussein -The Orang
Kaya Dato Shahbandar so with the Royal Sultanate of Johor, Royal
Sultanate of Perak, Yang Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan and all the
other Sultanate within the Peninsula Malaya. Upon the successful
achievement of independence from the British Colonialism a new
constitution with regards to the Royal Household over the land. Thus
the Federal Constitution elaborately defined and outlined the
function,power and purview with regard to the same. A constitutional
monarchy system at of the state and federation.
Malaysia has a unique
constitutional monarchy system whereby the King, who is also Ruler of
one of the states that make up Malaysia, serves for a fixed period of
5 years before being replaced by a Sultan from another of the states.
The King is elected by the Conference of Rulers and in practice the
Monarchy has rotated in turn between each of the 9 states with
Sultans.
These states are (in
order) Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Perlis, Terengganu, Kedah,
Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Perak.
The current King is
Almu'tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu'adzam
Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, GCB KStJ, the 14th Yang
di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, as well as the 27th and current Sultan
of Kedah.
The remaining 4 of
Malaysia's 13 states (Sarawak, Sabah, Melaka and Penang do not have
Sultans - they have Governors instead).
The King, as Supreme Head
of State, has roles and functions in matters relating to legislation,
judiciary, military, religion, diplomacy and pardoning.
Royal Etiquette and
Protocol
If you are ever fortunate
enough to be invited to the Palace for dinner you will need to brush
up on your etiquette. I can recommend a fascinating official website
on the Malaysian Monarchy which will tell you everything you need to
know. For example, it tells us that at the dinner table we should
"Avoid yawning or belching loudly". I should think so too!
And if you are ever
hosting a function for VVIPs you will need to know the Federal Order
of Precedence to avoid offending anybody. The same website informs us
that naturally the King and Queen occupy the number 1 and 2 positions
in the order of precedence. The Prime Minister only comes in at
number 6. When planning your seating arrangements you might also need
to know for example that the Governor of the Central Bank (No.40)
takes precedence over the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur (No.41).
The Istana Negara (Malay
for National Palace; Jawi: ايستان نڬارا)
along Jalan Istana was the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong (Supreme King) of Malaysia. It stands on a 13 acre (50,000 m²)
site, located at a commanding position on the slope of a hill of
Bukit Petaling overlooking the Klang River, along Jalan Syed Putra.
It was replaced by a new
palace as the official residence of the King in 2011. On 2013 it was
converted into Royal Museum.
The Federal Government
then converted the residence into the Istana Negara for the newly
created sovereign post of Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaya which was
about to achieve independence that August as scheduled. Since then it
has undergone several renovations and extensions. But the most
extensive upgrading was carried out in 1980, as it was the first time
that the Installation Ceremony of His Majesty DYMM Seri Paduka
Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong was held at the Istana Negara. Prior to
this the Installation Ceremonies were held at the Tunku Abdul Rahman
Hall in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur[1] with the first one held in
1957.
After the Istana Negara
moved to the new palace at Jalan Duta in December 2011, it was later
used for a royal exhibition called Raja Kita, in conjunction with the
installation of Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah as the 14th Yang
di-Pertuan Agong in 2012. The exhibition started on 15 April 2012 and
is later extended on 8 December 2012. Over 314,757 visitors, both
local and foreign visited the exhibition between 15 April and 7
December.[2]
From 2013 onwards, the
two guards in Malay traditional attire will be stationed at the main
gateway of the old Istana Negara to revive the nostalgia and
tradition of the Malay Sultanate. Information, Communications and
Culture Minister Rais Yatim said the practice will help retain the
old palace as a must-visit tourist destination.[2] Several rooms and
halls at the old Istana Negara will be open to visitors to learn of
their use to the previous 13 Yang di-Pertuan Agong who lived in the
palace. An inventory would be drawn up of the collections in the
palace in the effort to conserve them. Rais Yatim requested the Royal
Malaysia Police and the Department of Museums to collaborate in
managing the collections.[2]
Palace areas and use
Malaysian coat of arms as
part of the Royal Insignia on the fence of the palace.
Compound
The building is nestled
within a 11.34-hectare compound with a variety of plants and flowers,
swimming pool and indoor badminton hall. As the palace grounds are
not opened to members of the public or tourists, the Main Palace
Entrance is a favourite picture spot for tourists.
The whole area is fenced
up and the Royal Insignia of His Majesty is placed on each steel bar
between two pillars of the fence. At the front of the Istana Negara,
there is the main entrance which resembles an arch. On each side of
the arch, are two guard posts to shelter two members of the cavalry
in their full dress uniform similar to the ones at Buckingham Palace,
London. From 2013 onwards, the full dress uniform will be in Malay
traditional attire as it was during the Malay Sultanate era.
In the grounds of the
palace is a guard house for the members of the Royal Malay Regiment,
one of the two Household Division units in the Malaysian Armed Forces
(the other one is the Malaysian Royal Armoured Corps Mounted
Ceremonial Squadron). There is also a six hole golf course, tennis
courts and a lake in the far end of the grounds.
The driveway, lined with
cypresses and casuarinas, leads to two entrances - an entrance to the
West Wing and the other to the East Wing.
East Wing
Balairong Seri is the
throne room of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It is located in the East
Wing and only used for official and customary functions. These
include ceremonial occasions of taking the royal pledge, installation
ceremony of a new elected King and the appointment of a new prime
minister and the federal government which included investiture
ceremonies and the taking of oaths by the government ministers and
state governors. This is also where the presentation and acceptance
of foreign diplomatic appointments are held. It sometimes serves as a
banquet hall.
The second hall on the
first floor is the Dewan Mengadap where the King receives honoured
guests such as Head of States and foreign dignitaries. This hall
doubles as a resting place of Sultans and Governors during the
Conference of Rulers. The other rooms are Bilik Duta, Bilik
Permaisuri and Bilik Menteri. Bilik Duta is where the King grants
audience to the Prime Minister and also where honoured guests are
received. The Queen receives her guests at the Bilik Permaisuri while
the Bilik Menteri is the rest room for guests.
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