The Role of the Head of State
We have heard the #kitamintalima campaign and more recently, a group of people from the Wangsa Maju constituency is appealing to the King for the current State of Emergency to be ended earlier than the 1 August 2021 set by the current emergency proclamation. While I appreciate the intention of these people as there are those who believe and think that the current government is incompetent in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, I cannot fully agree with the campaign being directed to the King. As a constitutional monarch, the King can only act upon the advise of the Prime Minister and there are very rare occasions where the King has the absolute power or discretion in carrying out his duties. One of the discretion that he has is in determining the who should be the Prime Minister. In this respect, he had used his discretion in February 2020. Some might argue that the King should have summoned for a parliament sitting so that the MPs can openly vote for the new Prime Minister. While that may...