Malaysians await some change from status quo

KUALA LUMPUR: On the day this article appears, Malaysia is supposed to be holding another meeting session of its Conference of Rulers. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, roughly patterned after the British Westminster model of parliamentary democracy whereby the king, or formally the Supreme Head (as stated in Malaysian passports), is the head of state but not the head of government, unlike in the Philippines where the elected president is both.

The Malaysian king is a symbol of national unity, but otherwise, he is supposed to act on the advice of the elected government in the discharge of his constitutional duties with a few exceptions where he could exercise discretionary powers as will be discussed below.