Thirty three years ago, Australia was faced with a constitutional crisis so serious that the Queen was forced to use her option. Her vice-regal representative, the Governor General, stepped in and sacked the prime minister and appointed another as caretaker. Fresh elections were held one month later in which the caretaker PM and his party won.

Malaysia and Australia have a few things in common. Both are members of the Commonwealth and both are constitutional monarchies and parliamentary democracies. Both are also federated states. But the diffrence is that Australia's Queen resides in London whereas Malaysia's King lives with his people right where they are. Another diference is that one is an established democracy while the other is a developing one.

Australia availed itself to the Queen's Option, although for the first and only occasion. Does Malaysia have a King's Option? Yes, but it is untested. Shad Faruqi in his latest book on the Malaysian Constitution - Document of Destiny – highlighted some interesting developments.

To begin with, he says, "The electoral verdicts in Terengganu, Perlis, Perak, and Selangor (after the 8 March general elections) put the Sultans in the limelight and seem to have ushered in a new era of activism by the Sultans in their own States."

However, he also pointed out that, "A vast array of powers is vested in him (the King) by the Constitution and by federal legislation. On a literal reading of these laws the lay person would get the impression tha the monarchy is the real seat of power in the country. But the real legal position is different."

Why did the Queen used her option to dismiss the Whitlam government on 11 November 1975, the most controversial political event in the history of Australia's Federation.

Edward Gough Whitlam's Labor government had been elected on December 2, 1972 and was the first Labor government in 23 years. Australia's Prime Minister for 16 years was Robert Menzies, whose Liberal Party governed in coalition with the Country Party. After Menzies' retirement in 1966, the government went into a steady decline until it was defeated by Whitlam.

The new government was elected in a climate of great hope and optimism. But it was dismissed a mere three years later at the hands of the Senate and the Governor-General,Sir John Kerr. He went on to appoint Malcolm Fraser as a caretaker Prime Minister and fresh elections were called on 13 Dec 1975, at which the Whitlam Government was soundly defeated.

The dismissal of the Whitlam Labor Government was the culmination of a series of dramatic events which began in October, 1975 with the refusal by the Senate to pass the government's budget bills. This later developed in a constitutional impasse.

Can Malaysia use the King's Option? Yes, but as Shad Faruqi has pointed out, it is easier said than done. Under Article 39 of the Constitution, "The executive authority of the Federation shall be vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agung…" But Article 40 (1) immediately spells out that the King shall act on advice of the Cabinet. However, in 40 (2) gives the King the discretion in the appointment of a prime minister, among other things. Needless, some are only to keen to point out that if the King can appoint a PM, he can also dismiss him.

Shad Faruqi ends his book by pointing out that, "Despite the bold pronouncment of constitutional supremcy in Article 4 (1), the Constitution has largely operated at the peripheries of the lgeal system." (By BOB TEOH/ MySinchew)