COMMENT | Adhering to a Westminster constitutional monarchy

COMMENT | It’s excitement season in the political arena - a hundred different dramas are unfolding all at once.

Amidst all this brouhaha, it is easy to let slip the case of the menteri besar of Johor.

I imagine one reason this case is not gathering heaps of attention is that it’s possible many people outside of Johor (and perhaps a good number within Johor even) do not truly care who the menteri besar is.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to name the menteri besar of Johor a few weeks ago, and I had never really heard of the current one either.

Given what has been happening in politics - including some debate regarding the dissolution of parliament - perhaps it is a good time to revisit some key features of the Westminster system, employing a slightly more academic lens.

At the heart of the Westminster system is the concept of a constitutional monarchy - a rather interesting hybrid system that quite uniquely combines a number of elements.