The Ancient Covenant: Chief Broad Leaf and Seri Teri Buana.

A few days back I wrote an article about an ancient covenant between the king and his subject. The article was written in Malay. It tells us about the covenant between Demang Lebar Daun (Chief Broad Leaf) and Seri Teri Buana.

Chief Broad Leaf is the symbol of the obedient, pliant and subservient Malay. He has a high threshold of tolerance. He suffers injustice, abuse and exploitation with the patience of Job. Seri Teri Buana is the symbol of the Malay ruler whose being is infused with mystical qualities of the netherworld.

The story about this ancient covenant seems most relevant in light of the scolding and public dressing down given to Khalid Samad by HRH Sultan of Selangor. Many Malays thought this is perilous for Khalid Samad. A king has openly chastised and reprimanded Khalid. It is the end of the world for Khalid Samad. Even among his party men, the closet feudals are screaming for his blood.

As a result, the apple polishers and professional boot-lickers have come out in full force. Many are asking for Khalid’s pound of flesh and blood. Others have pontificated that living in Selangor, one must understand the state laws.

The message should be abundantly clear. The Malays want a return to absolute monarchy when they can be king in the eyes and sultan at heart.

I thought English speaking readers would be interested to see how common folks see the tiff between Khalid Samad and the Sultan of Selangor. Some people are happy to hear Khalid Samad being scolded. People from Perkasa are urging Khalid to be punished. What was the law contravening offence? People at MAIS are already behaving like they are immune from legal responsibilities. They are not.

When a subject is berated and scolded in public that is not the end of the world. Only people with vested interests such as UMNO politicians in Selangor and pro UMNO elements in MAIS would want to elevate the public pronouncements of the King beyond a status they deserved.

The King was angry- granted. But those lesser kings around the real king are all hankering for Khalid’s blood in addition to his pound of flesh- what’s with them?  As the Malay saying goes- the tea spoon is behaving more than a ladle.

The words spoken by the King are not life-ending laws and should be treated as they were- an outpouring of personal anger that ought not to be translated into more. Into more means such things like Khalid Samad must be stripped of his stature as MP or he is declared persona non grata. Only the UMNO black-shirts would salivate as such prospects because they know, they can never get Selangor back, not in a million years.

And only the political parasites would exploit the incident.

The Malay covenant between the King and subject is said to begin with the agreement between Demang Lebar Daun( Chief Broad-Leaf)  and Seri Teri Buana. This agreement took place at a time before time. No one knows when. In England, they have the Magna Carta or Magna Carta libertatum.  It was an agreement made between the barons of England and their King.

Now, the agreement between Demang Lebar Daun and Seri Teri Buana was not a complete charter like Magna Carta. It however shares some slight similarity as it is also an attempt to restrict the brutishness of the King. The ancient covenant between Demang lebar Daun and STB outlined the powers of the King and subjects only on one particular subject matter- loyalty ad fealty.

It provided clearly that the King shall never trespass, denigrate, denounce and humiliate his subjects. The king shall never have his subjects killed, liberties taken except in accordance to Sharia laws. In return, his subjects shall never rebel; usurp and shall stay loyal to the king. As long as the king keeps his peace, the subjects will never rise up against him.

The ancient covenant also provided that of the King transgresses on his promise, then the whole nation will be imperiled.

This is the first mentioned agreement between a ruler and his subjects. It was a bilateral oath making promise between a ruler and his subjects. I supposed they shook hands on that. The consideration given by Demand Lebar Daun who can be said to be the father of all pliant and submissive Malay subject was his beautiful daughter.

This isn’t an irrational thing to do one might add- many hundred years later, Lee Kuan Yew practised a similar policy. To prevent dullards begetting dullards, Lee Kuan Yew proposed marriage and procreation of the smarts while preventing the less gifted from producing more than the bright stars. People like demang lebar daun also knew the art of Eugenics and would give their daughters to the most powerful, the better physically endowed, the most talented, the richest etc. - to ensure the next generation is made of the Aryan race.  Well not exactly an Aryan race- but a better race.

Nothing interests the primordial Malay ruler other than satisfaction of the violent surges of the loins. In return, the symbol of the Malay master- a person by the name of Seri Teri Buana( who later became Sang Nila Utama- the founder of Singapura) gave nothing except the presence of his august and divine being. And a promise not to carry our heinous acts of humiliating the pliant subjects.

The story began with Seri Teri Buana, aka STB in the spirit of NEM, ETP, GTP, NKRA, PDP etc cannot contained the violent urges of his loins. He must have them appeased. So he took to marrying the lively and nubile lasses of the land. But after each consumption, the lady in questioned would awaken the next day only to find herself afflicted with some form of disfiguring skin disease.. Perhaps leprosy. So what to do? I am king- I can marry some more.

STB can be regarded as the first representative of Malay rulers.  Many of were descended from mythical origins befitting the netherworld. Some manifest themselves from cows’ vomit; others were found in the impregnated part of bamboo tree( anak buoh betong) and some simply appears mysteriously out from nowhere.

Back to our horny Seri Teri Buana. After 39 ladies failed his test, he was told than his man-Friday- the every pliant Chief Broad Leaf was said to have a beautiful daughter named Wan Sundaria. STB wasted no time in asking for her hand in marriage. Fearing for the fate of his daughter, Demang Lebar Daun told Seri Teri Buana of his wish to enter into a covenant. The covenant soon became the primordial agreement between the ruler and subject.

The main points of the wa’ad or covenant were:-  

On the first instance- on the part of all the subjects, the king must take good care of them. They were not to be castigated, humiliated and scolded in public. Even the taking of life of the subject must be in accordance to sharia law. If the king does that, the subjects will offer undying loyalty and fealty.

On the part of the rakyat, the descendants of Chief Broad Leaf shall never rise against the King and his descendants. Chief Brad Leaf agreed to be bonded by this covenant provided the descendants of Seri Teri Buana will not transgress.

This ancient covenant has forever shaped and structured the relationship of the Malay rakyat and the King. Up to this day, the Malay rakyat has never rose against the King while no king has humiliated and shamed the Malay rakyat.

That is until now. A descendant of Seri Teri Buana has publicly shamed and humiliated a descendant of Chief Broad Leaf. So what now?

How will a common  rakyat defend himself against the trespass of his person and dignity?

The answer is blowing in the wind- abolish the sedition Act 1948 and see and hear how the rakyat feel.