KASIH SAYANG

KASIH SAYANG

20130112

Putera Yam Tuan patut diberi lebih ruang dalam akhbar Melayu


Telah lama saya mengamati penulisan Putera Yang Dipertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan iaitu YAM Tunku Zain Al-Abidin Tuanku Muhriz dalam akhbar berbahasa Inggeris. Penulisan beliau sentiasa mengajak masyarakat agar sentiasa berfikiran terbuka dan kemudian membuat penilaian sendiri setelah mendengar pendapat dari pelbagai pihak. Tapi sayang, akhbar berbahasa Melayu sepengetahuan saya tidak pernah menerbitkan atau menemuramah YAM Tunku apatah lagi pada 14 Januari 2013 rakyat N.Sembilan akan menyambut Keputeraan Yang Dipertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan yang ke 65.

Apakah kita hanya melaung-laungkan slogan Hidup Melayu tetapi lupa asal usul kita?Apakah kita hanya melaungkan slogan Daulat Tuanku, tetapi lupa apa jasa Tuanku serta asal usul Tuanku? Apakah untuk N.Sembilan sebenarnya tidak wujud slogan Hidup Melayu, yang ada ialah slogan Hidup Orang Asli dan Hidup Orang Minangkabau?

Tertarik dengan petikan YAM Tunku di bawah ini.

“The Undangs themselves continue to be elected from the Suku Biduanda — a special clan created out of the alliance between Minangkabau immigrants and Orang Asli who were already living in what became Negri Sembilan (political scientists would call this a form of consociationalism).

Of course, none of this is taught in the history textbooks today, which is perhaps why some (even Negri Sembilan) Malays have a very different conception of what it means to be Malay, and why the spirit of inclusion and democratic ideals are absent in their worldview.”


Running risk of even less civil society role
Friday, January 11, 2013 - 16:07
by Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz

I OBSERVED the results of another election earlier in the week. It was the formal appointment of the Datuk Andatar, one of the Orang Enam Istana (literally “Six Palace Officials”) serving the Negri Sembilan palace.

Unique amongst royal institutions in Malaysia, perhaps the world, ceremonial positions in Negri Sembilan are democratically elected from specified clans (called “suku”). Thus, the office of Datuk Andatar is always held by a member of the Suku Seri Lemak Pahang Lingkungan, while other office holders are members of other clans. Membership of these clans continues to be determined through matrilineal descent.

Whenever a vacancy arises, the members of the clan come together and decide who should represent them in the position. Once the individual is confirmed, a delegation from the clan is accepted at the palace for the new officeholder to be formally introduced to the Yang di-Pertuan Besar in a ceremony overflowing with tradition.

This system was an ingenious way of ensuring inclusion from different clans and geographical areas in what was a fractious political environment before the arrival of the first Yang di-Pertuan Besar, Raja Melewar from Pagar Ruyong.

He, of course, was invited by the Undangs to bring unity to a confederation surrounded by Bugis, Acehnese and Dutch competitors on all sides.

The Undangs themselves continue to be elected from the Suku Biduanda — a special clan created out of the alliance between Minangkabau immigrants and Orang Asli who were already living in what became Negri Sembilan (political scientists would call this a form of consociationalism).

Of course, none of this is taught in the history textbooks today, which is perhaps why some (even Negri Sembilan) Malays have a very different conception of what it means to be Malay, and why the spirit of inclusion and democratic ideals are absent in their worldview.

As it turns out, the new Datuk Andatar is Haji Zulkeply bin Mansor, who had already been serving as Datuk Setia Bijaya since the reign of the late Tuanku Ja’afar. He is also the internal expert on the proper wearing of ceremonial dress, often correcting the lopsided wearing of my tengkolok. My congratulations to him!


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