The constitutionality of the monarch's ownership stake in U Mobile Sdn Bhd has come under scrutiny following Putrajaya's decision to award the business the license to roll out Malaysia's second 5G network.
Although the Federal Constitution's Article 34(3) states that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong cannot actively participate in any commercial venture, attorney Srimurugan Alagan believed that the phrase "actively engage" did not refer to merely holding shares.
According to Scoop, Srimurugan added that shareholders are legally distinct from the business in which they own stock.
"The board of directors would be the (legal) personality that runs the business and the brains," Srimurugan told Scoop.
Simply put, the attorney clarified that the constitutional clause's usage of the phrase "actively engage" may have been intended to keep a king from becoming sidetracked from his official responsibilities by business matters.
But by simply being a stakeholder, the monarch shouldn't be considered "actively engaged," Srimurugan clarified.
Kuhan clarified that although the constitution restricts the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's active participation in business ventures, the nation's laws do not seem to specifically forbid state leaders from owning stock in a corporation.
Kuhan said that the nine Malay monarchs' state constitutions lacked clauses resembling those included in Article 34(3).
Rather, a "Proclamation of Constitutional Principles," which was signed by six of the nine kings on July 4, 1992, stipulates that monarchs are not allowed to directly participate in business ventures other than through trusts.
Notably, Kuhan claimed that the proclamation was not signed by the Sultans of Johor, Kedah, and Kelantan.
"I guess the difference with the Agong is in what is considered active involvement," said Kuhan.
The license to deploy a second 5G network in Malaysia was granted to U Mobile by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on November 6.
The opposition criticized the move, with Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saifulruddin Wan Jan claiming that the license awarding procedure to U Mobile was opaque and raising doubts about the necessity of a second 5G network.
Following the issue, it was also disclosed that foreign owners, including Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd, which is connected to Temasek Holdings in Singapore, are among U Mobile's shareholders.
Additionally, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar owns 22.31% of the business.
Fahmi Fadzil, the minister of communications, informed the Dewan Rakyat on November 7 that the MCMC's choice to grant U Mobile the license was unrelated to their shareholders.
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