THE NAJIB ELEPHANT IN THE ROYAL ROOM - AS MALAYSIA PREPARES TO GREET A NEW KING - WHO WILL BE THE AGONG TO GRANT DISGRACED EX-PM AN EARLY ROYAL PARDON - PAHANG SULTAN OR JOHOR SULTAN? - 'HOPEFULLY, NEITHER!'
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - As Malaysians get ready for a new monarch, the very popular Johor Sultan to replace the just-as-popular Pahang Sultan, the elephant in the room remains the same .
Who will be the King to grant the infamous ex-prime minister Najib Razak a 'surprise' royal pardon?
'Hopefully, neither!' That's the sentiment on the ground as most Malaysians prefer the disgraced Najib to stay behind bars for his full 12-year jail term for kleptocracy and abuse power - or at the very least the full 6-year period before he can be eligible to be considered for a royal pardon.
"The rakyat (people) will always come first," Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, next in line to be the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, told the cascade of press interviews that has begun to herald his reign which starts next year.
"It is not a promotion. It is a responsibility I am prepared to undertake on behalf of my brother Rulers," the 64-year-old Ruler, known for his multiracial philosophies and feisty 'Bangsa Johor' policy, told national news agency Bernama.
The five-year reign of the current and 16th Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang, will conclude by the end of January next year.
'ENEMY' EYES
Previously, there had been public concerns the current King, who hails from Najib's home-state of Pahang, would favor Najib's plea for an early pardon. Thailand's convicted ex-PM Thaksin's recent royal pardon has also fueled fears a similar move would take place in Malaysia.
However, the breadth and depth of Najib's financial felonies around the world may make this impossible without making Malaysia and PM Anwar Ibrahim's government 'total laughing stocks'.
The royalty in Malaysia has also come under pressure from Islamic extremists of late. A few hardline Malay leaders from ultra parties including PAS and Bersatu have even openly snubbed the Sultans, something that was traditionally taboo.
"More than before, the Malay Sultans have to tread very carefully," a commentator told Politics Now!
"Whatever they do must be carefully thought out. They cannot be impetuous and hope for instant forgiveness from the Malays anymore because there are 'enemy' eyes on them and they have to be seen to be wise and fully above the wheeling and dealing of politics and its petty, daily grind."
-Politics Now!
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