WHILE public servants do not make a specific public promise per se when we take office, it is implied within our colonial heritage-based Public Services System. American appointees are “politically driven,” and therefore change with every new Government of the Day. Our public servants were designed to be politically neutral.

Therefore, for me at least, when AB Sulaiman entitled his book, Ketuanan Melayu he was actually challenging the “siapa tuan” mindset of the political elite in Malaysia, and has hit the nail on its head. The false theology of Ketuanan Melayu is a greatest deception of Malaysia.

I called this a decrepit worldview wherein one falsely assumes that one is greater because one is defined a Malay by the federal constitution. All human dignity recognises equality of every human life, regardless of religious or ethnic standing, but such a worldview recognises all such universal truths but does not focus or favour, form or colour.

Therefore, what the Federal Court ruled recently in the M. Indira Gandhi case is that the children are all Hindu by birth to parents of such an origin, and that one parent cannot unilaterally change the faith of their children.

Frankly, the Quran itself speaks of there being no compulsion in Islam. So, what bothers me, is the fact that one subsidiary shariah court system still went ahead to review it and sustain such a recognition their illegitimate conversion.

Therefore also, there is now an equivalent filing in court which even questions the very premise of shariah system of governance as a federal department. Umno member and former leader, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, too said recently that Jakim cannot be a federal agency.

As a Merdeka Malaysian, I too choose to talk about this issue. I want to see and hear human dignity being declared through every religious grouping in Malaysia. Any form of false or fake compulsion in the name of any religious group or worldview is simply a farce. There cannot be any compulsion for the human conscience.

Given that the Federal Court has now unanimously ruled on the above matter, the consequential implication is for the neutrality of all public servants, including the IGP.

The Federal Court has spoken through a 99-page judgment. The Federal Court has now interpreted the federal constitution and declared its supremacy. This was clear for our forebears; the Tunku had described us secular years ago.

We have had two IGPs who had ignored civil rules based on their preferential interpretation of laws.

The first IGP refused to implement the investigative commission (IPCMC) report on police discipline, but which has now been addressed by the Integrity Commission or EAIC.

Then, as highlighted in my earlier column, the previous IGP who ignored or refused to obey the explicit high and Federal Court orders. My question therefore is: Were the IGP’s above the law? – February 12, 2018.

* KJ John worked in public service for 32 years, retired, and started a civil group for which he is chairman of the board. He writes to inform and educate, arguing for integration with integrity in Malaysia. He believes such a transformation has to start with the mind before it sinks into the heart!

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.