The Political Thoughts of Raja Ali Haji: An Analysis on Adab of His Work Entitled Muqaddimah fi Intizam
This paper examined the key subject of Raja Ali Haji's correspondent to his cousin Raja Ali bin Raja Jaafar (1845-57), the Sultan of Riau, concerning the role and responsibilities of a sultan from an Islamic perspective. He handwrote his views in his writings entitled Muqaddimah fi Intizam. This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it analysed Raja Ali Haji's general perspective regarding the above subject. Secondly, it attempted to extract the moral codes regarding the governance of a state which Raja Ali Haji highlighted in his writing. He expressed three main ethos as a foundation of his cousin's rule which was divided into three main themes. Firstly, the aim of the government in upholding justice must be with the intention of obtaining reward in the hereafter. Secondly, it was the sultan's responsibility to maintain peace and provide an avenue for the public to channel their complaints and lastly to uphold justice. This research found that although Raja Ali bin Raja Jaafar did not abide by all of his cousin's counsel, the latter's political thoughts became the polity for the governments of the Malay World.
Biography
Professor Kamaruzaman bin Yusoff graduated from the department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Edinburgh University. His fields of interest are modern Middle Eastern politics and Islamic thought. Currently, he is the Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Civilization at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.