After decades in the background of Malaysia¡¯s national politics, the monarchy has moved to center stage to fill a power vacuum this year.
King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who ascended the throne last year, stepped into the political fray back in February when a two-year-old government abruptly collapsed. He resolved the impasse by tapping Muhyiddin Yassin to become the next prime minister without a parliamentary vote. Since then, Muhyiddin¡¯s majority has regularly been questioned, and the country¡¯s top politicians have sought meetings with the king while vying for power.
For Malaysia, where one coalition ruled for six straight decades until the 2018 election, it¡¯s relatively new for the monarch to play such a prominent role in politics. The nine members of the Conference of Rulers, who rotate power among themselves, have since the country¡¯s independence from British rule mainly performed ceremonial functions like swearing in ministers or pardoning criminal convicts.
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