A key feature of any democratic country is that its security apparatus – namely military and police – must be subject to civilian control.
In fact, this is perhaps universal for modern states – even for communist countries like China, "the party is to control the gun".
The logic is simple – the state monopolises the legitimate use of violence to eliminate private violence.
Military and police are tools to achieve political goals of the state, not as an end in themselves.
A military does not exist just to eliminate rival troops so that it can plunder the population. Similarly, police do not exist just to purge mafias so that they can collect protection fees.
The use of state violence – namely deploying military or police to carry out a military campaign or to execute an executive or judicial order – must be made according to law or by state institutions exercising their power conferred by law.
There is no such thing as autonomy for the security apparatus. When the military is autonomous from the political leadership, the state is either a military junta or a failed state plagued by warlords.
When a military subordinate defies the order of its superior – military or civilian, s/he commits a mutiny, and it is a severe crime, punishable by death in many countries.
By the same logic, IGP Khalid Abu Bakar's deliberate and repeated refusal to comply with two High Court orders in the two child custody cases are not just contempt of court.
Contempt of court applies to ordinary citizens or even bureaucrats. For members of police force whose primary task is to ensure law and order by acting on the demand of laws or state institutions empowered by laws, disobedience means a deliberate breakdown of chain of command.
It is mutinous, not just contemptuous.
Malaysians may have different opinions on the interfaith children custody cases. That's fine. But that is no excuse to undermine law and order, destabilising the country.
If every police officer makes his or her own call to decide whether to execute an order from the Judiciary or Executive, we then do not have a police force.
We will have only armed personnel who act on their own moral compasses. Sinking into chaos, Malaysia will be nothing but a failed state.
This is how serious the case of the IGP's disobedience to the High Court is. As an individual, he may have his opinion that the children caught in interfaith custody suits should be placed in welfare homes.
As an IGP, he has no right to replace the law – as interpreted by the High Court – with his own opinion. If he feel strongly about his opinion and wants to make it law, he should resign, join politics and get elected as a parliamentarian.
Now, even if as a result of the Ipoh High Court's order which gives the police an ultimatum of executing its order in 30 days, Khalid decides to carry out the court orders, it is too late. His mutinous misconduct has made him unfit for his office.
No renegade general should be allowed to lead a military. In the extreme, not even one who appears to contradict his political master.
General Douglas MacArthur was a great war hero for America in the Second World War, but President Truman relieved him of his command in the midst of the Korean War for making public statements that contradicted the President's policies.
The rule of the game is simple: the existing laws must be respected and you pay a price when you break them.
This holds true even for conscience objectors who chose civil disobedience.
To reject the slavery and the Mexican-American War, Henry David Thoreau opted going to jail over paying taxes. He did not opt for evasion of taxes which might undermine the war effort without the price of imprisonment.
To denounce Alabama's racial segregation law, Rosa Parks opted police arrest over moving to seats consigned for the coloured.
Khalid should have resigned if he felt that executing the court orders would contradict his own conscience. He is entitled to his conscience as much as the nation is entitled to rule of law.
When Khalid imposed his personal judgement on the nation and prevented justice, the necessary proceeding of the Police Force Commission should be triggered to investigate on his misconduct.
Both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister betrayed their oath to defend the Federal Constitution they took when they were sworn in as parliamentarians.
Home minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has refused to even order Khalid to retract his obedience.
Worse, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak effectively affirmed the IGP's renegade misconduct by suggesting the interfaith custody cases should be referred to the Federal Court.
Indirectly, Najib is saying that the High Courts have no power to have the Police respect their orders.
Najib's statement is not only contemptuous of all courts lower than the Federal Court, but also undermining democracy and civilian rule by encouraging disobedience in security forces.
It is catastrophic that we have unscrupulous politicians who do not give a damn on the oath they took, and who have no qualm of undermining the political system they are leading.
Malaysians must now stand up and demand the resignation of Khalid Abu Bakar. His name and IGP should not be associated for one more day.
It's not about just the fate of the children in the two cases – we may have different opinion on that.
What is at stake now here is much greater – should all children of this country be governed by rule of law or run according to the whims of a renegade top cop? – June 14, 2014.
* Dr Wong Chin Huat is a former journalist and now an academic with the Penang Institute.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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