Why Sultan & King Required?

May 1st Hari Pekerja, I was in Tg Malim. At half past noon, rain poured down heavily that we’ve decided to cancel an outdoor outing that evening. Thus, this posting...

I was kinda called to answer a question in fb few days back with regards to the importance of having Sultan & King in Malaysia. The question is a bit provocative, less aggressive in a sense but since it was posted as a wall in fb, which requires argument, I replied. Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara is one of Rukun Negara or National Decree which was created by MAGERAN right after the 13th May tragedy. It shaped the ideology of being loyal to the Sultan; a leader who is believed will lead to peace and harmony to the country. Rukun Negara was taught from the very beginning, as far as I remember, since my early kindergarten days. So when my fb friend claimed that he was never been taught of all these, well I guess macam crite Seniman Bujang Lapok, his teacher died after only teaches the words alif, be, te and se…

I reminded my fb friend of the book that we’ve read in the State “Government by the People – basic version”, might be irrelevant in the context of Malaysian political climate, simply because the foundation in establishing this country is so much different from the US. I jokingly added that our English teacher Dr Alice Frantz not even knows what Rukun Negara is all about. This also reminded me of the benchmarking exercise that we’ve conducted during the Transformation Studies back in 2009. A Professor in Stanford once says, ideally lots of institutions wish to be like Stanford due to its standard not only in teaching and learning, but also their achievements in research and commercialization. But Stanford took more than 100 years to reach the place that they are enjoying now. It was not a sudden, magical flip - over the night development and attainment. There were steps need to be taken, hill need to be climbed before one could reach the top. The Professor added, in stepping, climbing or even running, institution must ensure people are moving together, simply because all initiative are based on teamwork and solidarity. We understand from the benchmarking exercise that the methodology in doing things right is more importance than just follow what you see or what you hear.

The post did not stop there. Another friend of friend cynically added up saying the Sultan and King is required because they need to utilize people tax money. Well, I know one place in Congo that does not need Sultan and their people need not paying any tax. The shaman, who led the tribe, only wears selampit or cawat besi. Thus, no money required except for daun-daun kering and besi2 buruk. Ha ha ha… And I happen to have their contact no. should somebody need to migrate to that ‘no tax paying’ country.

In view of the above, I would also like to quote two hadiths via an article written by Tuan Guru Haji Hadi in Haraqah issue May 2011: -

Allah berfirman yang antara lain bermaksud “Kerana tanggungan engkau (Muhammad SAW) hanyalah menyampaikan hokum-hukum yang Kami turunkan kepadamu; dan urusan Kami menghitungkan dan membalaskan amal mereka” (Surah al-Ra’d: 40);

Dan seterusnya Allah berfirman dengan maksud “Janganlah engkau (Muhammad SAW) mencerca benda-benda yang mereka sembah selain Allah, kerana mereka kelak akan mencerca Allah secara melampaui batas dengan ketiadaan ilmu pengetahuan” (Surah Al-An’am: 108)

P/s – Kesopanan & Kesusilaan should also be instilled especially when expressing your message to others. People say illness came from whatever you put in your mouth, but stupidity always comes from mouth that does not have any insurance ;-) ….