Even though support for the monarchy in Malaysia is generally high, especially in the country’s rural Malay heartland, its reputation has suffered in recent decades from a series of scandals. Among the most notorious royals was King Mahmood Iskandar of Johor, who was accused in the 1980s of murder (he was immune from prosecution). What was the King doing when he apparently beat a servant to death who laughed at him at an inappropriate moment?