Malaysia’s Monarchy Re-Emerges

Knocked back by Mahathir, the royalty finds a new role as political crisis grinds on

By: Murray Hunter

When Malaysia’s Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or king Al-Sultan Abdullah Al-Haj rejected Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s request to declare a state of emergency on October 25, many sections of Malaysia cheered him on.

It was the king, the 60-year-old Sultan of Pahang, who on February 29 cut through a political crisis to appoint Muhyiddin the…