BERSIH Marchers Expected Too Much from our Royalty

This report from malaysiakini may disappoint thousands who had some notion that the Agong would be able to reform the nation by submitting a petition.

The press statement from the Istana denying support for the peaceful march is to be expected for Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy.

This means that essentially the people have the ultimate power to determine their own future and destiny.

If one cares to compare, the Malaysian king has probably less influence than the Queen of England whose title is heriditary since we operate on a rotational basis.
Furthermore much of the influence and authority of our royals were reduced by laws during the last PM's tenure.

Perhaps it can be argued we removed the royals' power and the balance has tilted too much towards the Executive. As the Judiciary Fixing Scandal indicates, too much power in one branch of the government can lead to the ultimate height of tampering with the justice system.

The BERSIH march served its purpose and I suggest that the group work on other areas like voter education and awareness that will bring more tangible results at the ballot box.

The most we can expect from our Agong from this episode is perhaps a very private "broom award" ceremony as some people wrote that the Agong should have been present to accept that petition rather than playing polo elsewhere.