Published: Wednesday November 26, 2008 MYT 6:26:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday November 26, 2008 MYT 8:35:11 PM
Negri Regent: Royal immunity should be reinstated
KUALA LUMPUR:The Regent of Negri Sembilan, Tunku Naquiyuddin ibni Tuanku Ja’afar has called for the royal immunity to be reinstated so that the constitutional monarchy can be restored to its full sovereignty.
He said if the Ruler were to exercise his duties in a fair, just and impartial manner in protecting the Federal Constitution, his sovereignty needed to be duly protected as well.
“This full immunity from civil and criminal proceedings should be reconsidered so that he is on par with other constitutional monarchs around the world,” he said in his royal luncheon address on “The Role of the Constitutional Monarchy in 21st Century Malaysia” in here on Wednesday.
He said it was ironic that judges were immune in the performance of their judicial functions but Rulers were not.
“Royal immunity has been lost for 15 years. It needs to be reclaimed and reinstated so that the constitutional monarchy can be restored its full sovereignty so as to play a more fitting role in the 21st century as the guardian of the Federal Constitution so that the endeavour to safeguard the interests of all communities, to promote peace, prosperity, economic security and good governance can surely be fulfilled.
“Immunity is quite essential. Take the situation where we have a hung Parliament, the Ruler comes in to decide on a Prime Minister from one side of a political party and imagine if the other side of the political party opposes it and takes the Ruler to court,” he said.
Tunku Naquiyuddin said the loss of immunity was perhaps the single biggest setback to the institution of the Rulers.
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