From a legal and constitutional perspective, the controversial Akujanji pledge to be imposed on the teaching and administrative staff and students in local universities and other institutions of higher learning could be challenged as unconstitutional or ultra vires . It attempts to supercede or negate existing laws passed by the parliament.

But let us leave that to lawyers. What should concern us politically, culturally and religiously is that this highly personalised pledge of loyalty challenges not only our families cultures and religions, but also the very fundamental notion of modern politics of a nation-state.

For example, in appealing for compliance to the Aku Janji pledge, the education minister, who wears Western suits and neckties as an outward mark of modernity, was quoted by The Star on Jan 9 as saying: "I consider all students in universities as my children".

What nonsense. Our family culture, whether East or West, normally teaches us to address the male figures whose sperm that has given us life as fathers. We are rightly taught to respect them in our own families.

There are, of course, exceptional cases where some of us have adopted fathers who have raised us in the absence of biological fathers.

Psychological trick

Other than biological and adopted fathers, as well as 'Father' in our religious belief-systems, there should not be anymore 'fathers' in the secular realm of our lives.

Seen in this biological, cultural and religious context, for a secular minister of education to openly claim that he is a 'father' to all students in the universities is not acceptable and even objectionable.

It reflects a kind of feudal paternalism, or some remnants of it, in the mind set. A politician or administrator in a modern nation-state is a politician or administrator and as such nothing more should be attributed to him.

As a politician or public administrator, the minister for education, like the prime minister and other ministers survive politically on the support of the voters, and live financially on the money of the taxpayers. We can agree with and support them if their policies or ideas are right and acceptable, we can also disagree with and oppose them if they are not.

Indeed, the statement that 'I consider all students in the universities ...' attributed to the secular minister of education could been seen as a mixture of the remnants of feudalistic paternalism and a psychological operation to soften opposition to induce compliance to the Aku Janji pledge.

As a psychological trick, it can be neutralised by adult students and staff in the universities easily. Just stand up and say gently: "You are not my father. I don't consider you as my father. My father is at home or in heaven".

Armed security guards

What is more problematic is that the statement could be a sincere reflection of a kind of pre-modern mind set in politics and pubic administration. Besides seeing themselves as 'fathers', 'mothers' or 'grandparents' of the taxpayers and citizens, these politicians and administrators also often treat the country and the government, as well as their respective political parties, as their own private and exclusive properties.

For this feudal paternalism mind set, democratic and open discussion on policies of the government is not only discouraged but also suppressed, sometimes by force. How can children or grandchildren argue, discuss and debate with their 'fathers', 'mothers' or 'grandparents'?

It follows that they cannot and therefore must not be dislodged from office even though they are incompetent, corrupt, morally wrong or inefficient in the performance of their duties. How can children and grandchildren overthrow their parents and grandparents?

As parents are parents forever, these pre-modern politicians and public administrators also think that they ought to be in office forever without being challenged.

Police and the Special Branch are, for this mind set, to be used as armed security guards of the family owners of 'Malaysia Sole Proprietorship'.

Modern inner minds

These secularly pre-modern politicians and public administrators are as great a threat to socio-economic modernity and modern politics of modern nation-states as religious fundamentalists and extremists.

Indeed, since they are in power and command the resources of the state and the nation, it could be reasonably argued that they pose a more serious and imminent threat to parliamentary democracy and human rights which are based on non-sentimental but positive, responsible, creative and pluralist individualism.

For Malaysia to achieve the status of a modern and progressive nation-state, it is not only necessary to check the spread of religious and ethnic extremism, it also essential to ideologically combat secularly pre-modern and paternal feudalism.

For politicians and public administrators who really and sincerely feel lonely in this age of change and reformasi, they should be retired off and sent to retirement homes, or back to the private care of their biological children and grandchildren.

Modern politics and modern public administration should be conducted by men and women who are modern in their inner hearts and minds, not external attire or hairstyles.

JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia (SAM) which produces the subscriber-based political report, Analysis Malaysia . Wong is a former member of parliament (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily. He read political science and economics at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. While in Sin Chew , he and a team of journalists won the top awards of Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) for 1998 and 1999.