Recently, I have been very bothered by the lack of respect for the system of rule of law enshrined in the Rukunegara and premised on principles of nationhood or Merdeka, as agreed in the 1957 social contract.

The Rukunegara frames and undergirds one core set of principles in our system of constitutional governance. But, of late, the \’close one-eye\’ culture has become a way of life in the governance of Malaysia, especially at local level.

It began with a MP asking the Customs department to close one eye over his business interests. Then we had the Inspector-General of Police agreeing that the police can close an eye and settle compounds on the basis of plea-bargaining. Mat Rempit break the law at whim, killing innocents in the process.

Now we have municipal councillors who build mansions like little kings, with total disregard for the very council in which they serve. Those who make the law seem to be above the laws they make.

Reggie Lee\’s cartoon ( The Star , Oct 24) captured the very essence of my deep concern. It said: \’First we had Mat Rempit, now we have Mat Build it. Malaysia Boleh\’ (with an illustration of the two illegal mansions built by Klang councillors).

My question: where is our concern for adherence to the rule of law headed? If all it takes is for one to pay 10 times the value of the application fee, what we are actually saying is that you can break the law; only be prepared to pay a fine. In fact a citizen wrote that we could perhaps do away with the need for applications and invite all residents to build now and pay later.

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If you follw the logic of the second councillor, breaking such rules is perfectly okay and legitimate. Mr Selangor Menteri Besar (MB), do you really mean that this is your government\’s policy on adherence to the law, as exemplified by your two councilors?

Then can we go on to say all that Mat Rempit need to do is to pay a fine and they can be excused for breaking the law? Where is the Attorney-General and what has happened to prosecution? Is the role of the state legal advisor only to give wrong advice to the government?

No wonder we get multiple mixed signals about governance and messages which are open to multifarious interpretations. Anything is okay so long as a politician says so.

The prime minister has said no one should break the law. The MB even said no one is above the law, but then went on to say that there is no law stating that law-breakers cannot be appointed to a local council. The deputy premier said the matter of \’the family of councillors\’ needs to be looked into as it may promote an unintended practice and an undesirable corporate culture.

The people of Klang are flabbergasted to say the least, as they are being taken for a ride. The PM has left it to the MB to take appropriate action against the law-breaker, but surely this cannot simply be a token fine for breaking the law, especially when utter disregard has been shown for both the law and due process of compliance with the law. All the more so if one is a councillor, as per the Selangor Sultan\’s statement. Is this the kind or quality of leadership by example we are promoting in the so-called \’developed\’ state?

Disregard for law

Thankfully that is not the end of the story in Selangor. I am appreciative of the Sultan who has delivered the strongest rebuke to date for such blatant disregard and disrespect for the law.

The Star report by Wong Chun Wai quoted a source reflecting the Sultan\’s views: \”Tuanku is deeply disappointed at what has taken place and he certainly cannot accept leaders in the state who have committed offences or showed disregard for the law. As elected representatives, Tuanku expects them to demonstrate exemplary behaviour.\”

I can only agree 100 percent with this well stated view. Leadership in the state that does not respect the law and worse still shows overt disrespect and contempt for the principle of rule of law must not remain part of leadership, of which the Sultan is the head.

Daulat Tuanku , for your statement; only with such foresight and values can we fully preserve our version of constitutional monarchy. The Thai monarchy has consistently demonstrated that the institution of the monarch has a clear and unmitigated role to maintain and preserve the interests of the people even against democratically elected governments, if f they violate the unwritten and God-ordained principles of honesty and sincerity.

Back to the Rukunegara principles of belief in God, loyalty to king and country, upholding the constitution, rule of law, and good behavior and morality. How can anyone in Malaysia claim to be a leader if they violate any of these principles?

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With due respect to the Klang councillor and his rags-to-riches background, the illegal construction of a mansion clearly demonstrates the violation of ALL the Rukunegara principles. Allow me to clarify.

Our belief in God makes it a preamble to follow God-made and man-made rules and regulations in any system of administration that is legally constituted. Therefore breaking local government rules is tantamount to violating the faith in the God that we espouse. And this is especially so if you are an appointed councillor and a steward of good governance. It is never a question of whether it is a small law or a big law; it is the very act of violation that makes it wrong by evidence. Intentions are made evident through actions.

At state level, the Ruler is the constitutional monarch. When one breaks the law, one shows disloyalty to both the Sultan and the nation-state.

The Federal Constitution is the national set of rules and regulations. The Local Government Act is the federal law that specifies the appointment of councillors, who must also enjoy the favour of the state ruler, I believe. How can the MB then say that there is no law that disallows law-breakers to be appointed? Immorality is surely a moral law also.

Even if the MB is badly counselled regarding the federal law, surely he knows the simple criteria for good behaviour and morality. Any kid in primary school will know that you cannot elect the worst law-breaker or the most undisciplined kid in class as class monitor. Does the MB need the Sultan to re-educate him on this subject?

Lack of integrity

I sincerely hope the MB will recognise that he is also currently under observation for good behaviour and morality. As a citizen who voted for Barisan Nasional in the 2004 election, I am observing the MB to see if his leadership meets the ground rules of good stewardship of the so-called developed status he claims to have engineered. Unfortunately, he has failed to date to convince me of the same.

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This event is one more marker of the latitude the PM has given him to do the right thing. In the rape of Bukit Cahaya, the MB was chairperson of one of the companies that violated the law, but it was let off with a minimal fine. I hope the MB is not tempted to do the same in this case.

We know that he appointed the councillor who is a strongman of Umno Klang, but the core issue is directly related to leadership by example, as the Sultan has pointed out. Unilateral and blatant violation of all the principles of the Rukunegara cannot be surely justified even if the appointee is chairperson of of Umno Selangor.

I hope the MB realises that more is at stake here than merely poor leadership in the Klang council, headed by a president who saw no evil, heard no evil and spoke no evil until The Sun shone on this with a photograph of the illegal mansion.

The real and core issue is about the quality and calibre of people chosen to represent the interests of ordinary taxpayers and law-abiding citizens in Klang. The truth of the matter is that in the matter of governance of the Klang council, the councillors are also the \’legislators\’. How then can they include law-breakers?

It goes to the heart of integrity of leadership of the state. I am thankful that the Sultan has highlighted this issue of uprightness.

I wonder what the Attorney-General and ACA chief think of all this. How did a railway gatekeeper build a mansion costing at least RM3 million, excluding furnishings?

If he has not paid assessment rates, shouldn\’t the Inland Revenue director-general pull out his files to review what kind of taxes this people\’s representative has been paying?

It is time to get rid of bribery and corruption as the grassroots. To ordinary citizens it is becoming increasingly aware that we cannot trust politicians who say one thing and do another.

That is a clear indication of the lack of integrity. Mr MB, do you still have any doubts?