Anwar seeks royal support in power struggle

KUALA LUMPUR, - Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is reaching out to Malaysia's powerful sultans in his latest strategy to try to wrest power from the government.

His wife, Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, the nominal president of Anwar's Keadilan party, has offered to restore their powers if the opposition seizes power. "We are willing to return royal immunity and power to veto laws in the spirit of constitutional monarchy," she said.

Her statement has sparked debate over whether the Malay rulers, one of whom is chosen as ruling sultan every five years, should get back powers that were taken away in 1984 by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir amended the constitution and removed the sultan's power to veto bills, making the government the highest authority in the country. A 1993 amendment removed royal immunity from prosecution.

Constitutional law expert Shad Saleem Faruqi said on Friday that he supported the reinstatement of royal powers, but under strict codes of conduct to prevent the abuse of power.

The proposal came a day after Tunku Naquiyuddin, the regent of Negri Sembilan, made a rare demand to the government to reinstate royal powers.

The government's response was lukewarm, with the minister for law Nazri Aziz saying that a proposal must be made by the Conference of Rulers, a body that represents the nine sultans.

Despite his reduced powers, the ruling sultan does have discretionary powers to convene and dissolve parliament and appoint chief ministers, judges and senior civil servants.

The royals have also been outspoken recently on a number of issues, and many went against the ruling by the National Fatwa Council, Malaysia's top religious authority, to ban yoga for Muslims. The sultans have also been critical of Malaysia's scandal-plagued judiciary.

"The royals have an expanding role as a check on government excesses," said Ramon Navaratnam, the chairman of think-tank, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute. "We should not reject their suggestion outright, but examine it carefully."

Anwar's move to win royal support could be politically significant if he wins the backing of the king, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who can convene parliament - a tactic that could be used by Anwar to stage a mass defection of government backbenchers to his party. - South China Morning Post