The Malay Rulers' Loss of Immunity
By Professor Mark R. Gillen, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Canada
Occasional Paper #6, 1994
ABSTRACT
This paper traces the events leading to the constitutional amendments of 1993 in the
context of the significance of the Malay Rulers in Malaysian politics and Malay culture. The
paper begins, in Part II, by providing a brief historical backgrou nd to the Malay Rulers and
their importance in Malay culture and tradition. It also outlines the position of the Malay
Rulers under the constitution as it stood prior to the recent amendments. Part III describes
the events leading up to the recent amendments and the nature of the amendments that were
finally made. Part IV discusses how the amendments signal a change in the attitude of Malays
to the Malay Rulers which allowed the government to act when it did and which has
substantially reduced the significance of the Malay Rulers.
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