Sadly, the Sultan of Perak has spoken and wrongly too, after breaking a long silence and having allowed the Regent to speak so well on many occasions before these past weeks.

The Perak royal family gave all of us some hope that the royalty in Malaysia can become a rallying force to reinstall the now defunct rule of law in Malaysia. But, alas, all humans do disappoint us most of the time.

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Allow me to give my three senses of the situation in Perak framed in the post-general election scenario. I will then seek to interpret the spirit of the law and our constitution; based on the modern science of decision making.

First, there is a need to establish the framework for my interpretation. It is said in hermeneutics that ‘there is never text without context’. Therefore in the interpretive science of hermeneutics, decision making has moved beyond the so-called ‘objective’ scientific method.

Historically, most ‘scientists’ only undertook their interpretations based on the notions of the objective scientific method. That approach promoted the modern method of investigation based only on absolute rationality and evidence-based investigation.

What is clinically possible in the laboratory of modern science became morally allowable and plausible in the world of reality. Therefore such science assumed absolute and total knowledge of a subject through the rational modern methods of investigation.

Anything science cannot know and observe was therefore non-scientific and thus beyond knowledge. Therefore, all matters of faith and any such traditional knowledge or wisdom through faith was unknowable and unnecessary. They belonged only to the realm of values which were subjective and therefore non-scientific.

Thereafter, the Heisenberg principle within modern science itself changed all these false assumptions. Heisenberg established that the very act of measuring any object of investigation would in and of itself distorts the measure, and thereby argued the subjective nature of so-called objective science.

Flaw in logic

Since then, the so-called objective scientists have had to become more humble. And if Renesis Descartes were alive today he would probably have only said, as my teacher, SH Nasr put it: “I think, therefore I am only thinking.” Descartes’ fundamental flaw was the leap in logic from thinking to being.

Given that premise of the so-called notion of ‘objective science’ being also very subjective in her definitions, all interpretive notions of man, are only that: interpretive notions at best. Whether it is the Bible scholar or Islamic ulama or Jewish rabbi, each is, at best, only an interpreter of respective so-called ‘Objective Truths.’

Therefore all text can only remain an interpretive device for meaning vide each specified context. Neither can we boldly apply the ‘I’ of Descartes; who established his truth for all peoples and times.

Today, to me, the ‘i’ is only a small and humble, partially knowing and personally experiencing individual. British philosopher Michael Polanyi called this “personal knowledge.” Therefore, while the Almighty exists, knowing that reality is a very personal knowledge and always a spiritual journey. All kings also seek to know and understand this Other like the rest of us; and are equally limited by human frailty.

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That being the case, it is absolutely all right for the ousted Perak menteri besar to question and seek clarification about the due human processes of rightful governance in Perak, as one solitary state in the federation. He is also absolutely right in seeking correct application of the Perak constitution which is premised on the federal constitution, and therefore to seek his justice in the federal courts.

Philosophically, only the federal constitution exists over and beyond all humans in Malaysia. The social reality of the federal constitution pre-dates all of us and its interpretive history in ‘law and the spirit’ is the context within which the actions and inactions are to be judged as right or wrong.

Anything less diminishes all our institutions of democracy; whether Legislature or Judiciary or Executive or the Constitutional Monarch or even the Council of Malay Rulers. It is only the federal constitution that gives Malaysia its complete framework of governance and all authority for anything we do or choose not to do! That is the very human context in which we all live; in the here and now.

What voters deserve

So, what then is the text given for this context? First and foremost, the constitution was built on the premise of a democracy; and a kind of federalism based on representative decision-making. Therefore our wakil rakyat represent their constituency of voters.

Do voters care whether they are blue or red or green? Yes, only to the extent that they are first and foremost Malaysians; after that they can belong to any colour or ethnicity or religion, although all these may all be considered factors in their choice-making.

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In the Malaysian democratic system, members are voted in based on the parties they represent and the symbols used. Usually each party expounds some political philosophy that they stand for and believe in. People use these espoused theories to decide on the plausible and believable theories-to-be-used.

The parties then seek to put into practice their theories-in-use. Then by the next election people decide whether this or that party is more credible; usually measuring the integrity gap between the espoused theories and theories-in-use.

Premised on such a text and context; can these wakil rakyat change their espoused theories on which they stood and were voted in? They can only do this by declaring that they have zero integrity. They lied about what they stood for and they cheated people about what they stood for and were elected for – they are nothing more than leaping frogs!

All humans are called by God for much more! Even kings are really no different; and especially those given better schooling and higher education. The scriptures declare that the learned are judged for even more. Stewardship of leadership opportunities is sacred in the eyes of God; and the scriptures are very clear that all leadership will be judged accordingly.

Therefore, I pray that Malaysia will slowly but surely mature into a more responsible and accountable democracy through all these processes of trials and temptations. May God continue to bless Malaysia through this time of testing on the journey and evolution of our democratic maturity; that we will also grow in our ability and striving to comprehensively integrate with integrity.