UMNO Leaders and Malay Rulers: The Erosion of a Special Relationship

Abstract

IN JANUARY 1993, the Malaysian parliament stripped the Malay rulers of their legal immunity.' Meanwhile, UMNO Baru, the backbone of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, withdrew all privileges not provided for under the constitution and considered removing the prefix from the titles of state institutions. These actions appeared to be in response to public outcry over royal transgression of the law. Yet, the campaign against royalty is all the more interesting given the fact that most of the rulers had close personal ties with the UMNO leadership and had helped entrench the latter's dominance over the Malaysian political process. Why then did the UMNO elites move against the sultans when they had all along tolerated royal misdemeanours? This article will argue that the declining relevance of feudal institutions in UMNO Baru's strategy of political dominance and its elites' perception of the rulers as potential contenders for executive power culminated in the revision of the position of the rulers in Malaysian politics. However, the process of redefinition itself was constrained by other factors that were beyond the control of the ruling regime.