Police Investigate Tony Pua Over Constitutional Monarchy Post; Malay Lawyer Says He Is Correct

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Police have opened an investigation into former Damansara MP Tony Pua after a Facebook post in which he described the limits of royal power under the country’s constitutional monarchy system drew 28 police reports from across the country.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar confirmed the investigation on Wednesday (20 May), saying it is being conducted under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code — which covers statements likely to cause public mischief — and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Kumar said all parties involved, including Pua, would be called in for questioning soon.

Pua, who chairs the DAP Disciplinary Committee, had stated that under Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy system, the powers of the ruler are generally limited to specific areas — including Malay customs and Islam, the appointment of the Menteri Besar, and approval for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly.

We do not live in a system where the king can issue binding orders governing all aspects of our lives.

The post came amid a public dispute over pig farming in Selangor, after Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah advised DAP assemblyman Wong Siew Ki and former Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu to visit Dataran Selangor weekly to better understand the Rukun Negara.

The Sultan had previously rejected the pig farming activity in the state, and Pua’s remarks drew swift condemnation from Malay political parties and community groups.

Stating The Law Is Not Treason, Says Lawyer

However, lawyer and activist Aidil Khalid offered a different reading.

Writing on social media, he said that from a constitutional, legal, and statutory standpoint, what Pua described was accurate.

Aidil pointed specifically to the use of the word “hendaklah” — meaning shall — in Selangor’s state constitution when referring to the ruler acting on advice.

“In legal discipline, when legislation uses the word shall, it means the matter must or is obligatory,” he wrote.

If the Selangor State Constitution states that His Majesty shall act on advice, that means His Majesty must act on advice. This is enshrined in the constitution. Stating this is not treason.

Don’t Let One Fight Swallow Another

Aidil added that the pig farming dispute and the question of constitutional limits were two separate issues, and cautioned against allowing one to quietly reframe the other.

We can oppose pig farming — fully, and I support that fight. But do not let the pig farming issue become the opening to change the constitutional monarchy system that has long been established.

In a subsequent post, Pua did not escalate — he quoted the Rukun Negara preamble.

Malaysia, he reminded his followers, was founded on the aspiration to maintain “a democratic way of life” and build “a just society.”

READ MORE: Royal Respect Row Erupts As Tony Pua’s Rukun Negara Remarks Draw Backlash

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Police Investigate Tony Pua Over Constitutional Monarchy Post; Malay Lawyer Says He Is Correct
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