Those writing of the new, post colonial, Constitution for Malaya inserted a safeguard against over mighty and dishonest Prime Ministers misusing their power. They gave the Head of State the unrestricted power to dismiss the Parliament and so call new elections.

Thus the Agong enjoys a power that the British Monarchs lost centuries ago. In Malaysia there are no limits to this single power to dismiss Parliament.  It is absolute and was intended to be so and placed a safety valve in the hands of the King should a situation arise, as it has now, where a Prime Minister, and also a major criminal, abused his powers to destroy democracy in Malaysia.

And now it is needed.  Malaysia is sliding rapidly into a corrupt dictatorship headed by a major criminal who is maintained in office by politicians either too frightened or too corrupt to remove him by internal party means.

This means that the Agong has a choice. He must either use his power to prorogue Parliament or, by failing to do so, acknowledge that he supports the arch crimnal Najib and is indifferent to the future of democratic government in Malaysia.

Leaving other considerations to one side has it occurred to him that when Najib openly declares the death of democracy in Malaysia then there will be no need for a King? In a dictatorship there is only one boss and in Najib’s it will be him. The best the Agong can hope for will be a tolerated existence as head of his native State and that only so long as he toes the line; Najib’s line.

In all gilded existences there can come a critical moment. A moment when action or lack of it can decide the fate not merely of an institution (the King in Parliament) but of royalty in general.

That moment has arrived in Malaysia and the time remaining to save the country from a kleptocratic dictator is limited. Very limited. The choice is there. Universal acclaim for having saved democracy or universal disdain and disgust.