After decades in the background of Malaysia’s national politics, the monarchy has moved to centre stage to fill a power vacuum this year. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad, who ascended the throne last year, stepped into the political fray back in February when a two-year-old government abruptly collapsed. “We have now a royalty becoming more prominent, more assertive in politics,” said Dr Johan Saravanamuttu, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at RSIS who has written about Malaysian politics for more than 30 years. “It’s actually making important decisions with respect to politics.”