Malaysia's sultan step into power vacuum, with protection of Sedition Act
Royals flexing their political muscle with tacit backing of ruling Umno and liberal use of colonial-era sedition law to silence opponents
At the murky shore of a fishing village on the Malaysian side of the Singapore Strait, Ghazali Malik cleans out the mud and small stones tangled in his boat's fishing net.
He says his daily catch of fish, prawns and crabs has slumped since land reclamation work began this year on a controversial 2,000-hectare man-made island called Forest City, a project between the Sultan of Johor and a Chinese developer.
"My net used to last years, but nowadays I have to replace it after three months," said the 24-year-old fisherman.
The mammoth project, which has drawn concern from Singapore and environmental groups over its impact on the narrow channel, is a sign of what critics say is the increasing political and business influence of Malaysia's traditional rulers, the sultans.
A decline in support for the long-ruling coalition, led by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), at the last two general elections has left a power vacuum. Analysts say that the country's nine traditional rulers have stepped into the void, with the tacit support of the government.
"If the national opposition front were the ruling government in Putrajaya [Malaysia's seat of government], this would not have happened," said Abdul Aziz Bari, a constitutional law expert.
"... It shows that Umno is so desperate to cling on to power."
