Hazia’s Reflections

The Sultans were prominent in the Malay history. These rulers were instrumental in pioneer dealings with merchant traders and building the country’s economy. In time, their roles have faded & they are merely icons in these modern days. However, the ‘dawn of a new era’ had awakened the importance of the Sultans. I admire the depth of the Regent of Perak’s statement in The Star today:

Learn from past mistakes, says Perak Regent

IPOH: The Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah has urged the country’s leaders to learn from mistakes in the annals of history that caused the collapse of empires, countries and their leaders. He said that this should be done so that the country would not suffer the same fate and previous errors are not repeated.

“Only a small number of those given opportunities to become leaders actually did enough to create history and build civilisations. Many of those given the opportunity to lead allowed the joy and passion of having power to lead them astray," he said in his speech during the state-level Maulidur Rasul (Prophet’s birthday) celebration at the State Secretariat here Thursday.

"Some became complacent, some went astray, some were ill-advised, some adopted wrong decisions and some made miscalculations, "he said. He said a good leader was one who realised that he was no different from the subjects he led and possessed the qualities of humility, discipline, commitment, honesty and willingness to sacrifice.

“He who leads must know that he is always under God’s watchful eye and is always being weighed and measured by his people,” he said. Raja Dr Nazrin also said that a responsible leader should identify the road ahead for his followers. “He is responsible to his people. In fact, leading is a responsibility that should be accomplished by trust,” he said.

“On a separate matter, Raja Dr Nazrin told the people that he did not want celebrations such as Maulidur Rasul to be treated as mere "routine" and "ritualistic" functions. “Each celebration involves time, money and much effort. Therefore, each event should bear its purpose and be productive in nature,” he said.

One more from the Sultan of Selangor:

Sultan concerned over state of affairs

PETALING JAYA (March 21,2008): The horse-trading and apparent bickering among the political parties who will make up the new Selangor government are cause for concern for the Sultan.

While he has to remain apolitical, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has, over the last two weeks, found himself having to play arbitrator to the coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS in resolving the executive council line-up as well as the position of deputy mentri besar. It is a difficult task for the ruler, as while giving advice, he cannot be seen to be interferring…