KUALA LUMPUR – UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has strongly criticised DAP’s Discipline Committee Chairman Tony Pua, describing his recent remarks regarding royal authority as a clear breach of public decorum and boundary.
The rebuke follows an online commentary by Pua regarding the scope and boundaries of a Ruler’s constitutional decree, which has since ignited heavy debate across local social media platforms.
Taking to Facebook, Asyraf Wajdi argued that freedom of speech must never be used as a shield to disrespect or undermine the country’s royal institutions.
“Claiming to be constitutional experts, yet fundamentally lacking in proper decorum toward the Royal Institution. When a Sultan’s decree is ridiculed, that is not freedom of speech; it is pure disrespect,” he stated.
Using a traditional Malay idiom to describe overstepping boundaries, the UMNO leader suggested that Pua had forgotten his limits in the context of Malaysian society and nationhood.
“Tony Pua is acting like kaduk naik junjung (arrogant upon getting a little privilege), forgetting societal manners and boundaries. UMNO stands firmly with His Majesty,” Asyraf Wajdi added.
The public friction erupted after Pua published a post emphasizing that Malaysia operates under a constitutional monarchy where a ruler’s powers are traditionally limited to specific areas like Malay customs and Islam, adding that citizens do not live under a system of binding royal decrees on daily laws.
Pua’s remarks were made in response to an earlier decree by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who had urged select political representatives to visit the Rukun Negara Monument in Shah Alam to better appreciate the core tenets of national unity and royal sovereignty.
The swift online exchange has drawn intense scrutiny from local digital audiences, with many netizens calling for a more careful, respectful approach when discussing constitutional roles to ensure social harmony and long-term public stability. -MalayaDailyToday
