I

am heartened by generally supportive comments on my The Jakarta Post op-ed, '€œSharia and its misuse'€ (May 6, 2014). One reader has posted the Section 84(b) of Brunei'€™s new sharia. It says '€œHis Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Sultan and President can do no wrong in either his personal or any official capacity'€.

The reader then asks, '€œSo he puts himself above his God? A truly supreme being? That'€™s blasphemous and under sharia he should be punished [...] how?'€

Well, this is where the hypocrisy lies. The king and the powerful can do whatever they like. It is only the commoners who can be punished '€” under sharia or no sharia. The privileged class can easily use sharia as opium to seduce simple-minded and religious people so that they do not see what the privileged enjoy.

When the rulers declare themselves above the law then good governance goes out the window.

The Holy Koran lays out guidelines and rules pertaining to good governance in several verses:

'€œBehold, Allah bids you to deliver all that you have been entrusted with unto those who are entitled thereto, and whenever you judge between people, to judge with justice. Verily, most excellent is what Allah exhorts you to do: verily, Allah is all-hearing, all-seeing!'€ (4:58)

'€œ['€¦] those who oppress [other] people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right: for them there is grievous suffering in store!'€ (42:42)

Koran commands consultations in public affairs: '€œ['€¦] and consult them in the affairs. Then you have taken decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in him)'€ (3: 159). '€œ['€¦]and who (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation, ['€¦]'€ ( 42:38).

One can also find rules of conduct in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad:

'€œBehold! Each one of you is a guardian, and each one of you will be asked about his subjects. A leader is a guardian over the people and he will be asked about his subjects.

'€œWhosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand, and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart-and that is the weakest of faith.'€

Therefore, according to sharia (i.e. Koran and sunnah '€” practices and sayings of the Prophet), the principles of good governance in Islam are: consultation between the ruler and the ruled, freedom of speech to speak out against corruption and other wrong doings, ensuring justice to all, and achieving welfare of the people.

In Islam, there is zero tolerance for injustice, oppression, and violation of the rights of other human beings (Koran, 4:75).

The rightly guided Caliphs understood the Islamic (sharia) governance principles. For example, we find the following guidelines of Ali, the fourth rightly guided Caliph of Islam in the United Nations Human Development Report (Arab Human Development Report 2002, 107):

'€œHe who has appointed himself an Imam of the people must begin by teaching himself before teaching others. His teaching of others must be first by setting an example rather than with his words, for he who begins by teaching and educating himself is more worthy of respect than he who teaches and educates others.

'€œNo good can come out in keeping silent to the government or in speaking out of ignorance.

'€œChoose the best among your people to administer justice among them. Choose someone who does not easily give up, who is unruffled by enmities, someone who will not persist in wrong doings, who will not hesitate to pursue right once he knows it, someone whose heart knows no greed, who will not be satisfied with a minimum of explanation without seeking the maximum of understanding, who will be the most steadfast when doubt is cast, who will be the least impatient in correcting the opponent, the most patient in pursuing the truth, the most stern in meting out judgment, someone who is unaffected by flattery and not swayed by temptation and these are but few.

'€œYour concern with developing the land should be greater than your concern for collecting taxes, for the latter can only be obtained by developing; whereas he who seeks revenue without development destroys the country and the people.'€

Omar, the second rightly guided Caliph also had similar advice:

'€œAll men are equal. Do not flatter those in authority. Do not seek favors from others. By such acts you demean yourself.

'€œAnd speak the truth. Do not hesitate to say what you consider to be the truth. Say what you feel. Let your conscience be your guide. Let your intentions be good, for verily God is aware of your intentions.

'€œAllah has for the time being made me your ruler. But I am one of you. No special privileges belong to a ruler. I have some responsibilities to discharge, and in this I seek your cooperation. Government is a sacred trust, and it is my endeavor not to betray the trust in any way. For the fulfillment of the trust I have to be a watch-man. I have to be strict. I have to enforce discipline. I have to run the administration not on the basis of personal idiosyncrasies; I have to run it in public interest and for promoting the public good. For this we have the guidance in the Book of Allah. Whatever orders I issue in the course of day to day administration have to conform to the Koran.

'€œI am afraid that a mule might fall off the mountainous roads in Iraq and break its legs, and that Allah might ask me why I had not paved the roads in the area.'€ His concern here was public security.

In upholding the principle of al-amanah (responsibility and accountability), Omar said:

'€œWhat I do right, assist me; where I do wrong correct me.'€

Thus, there is no difference between what we now know as good governance and the principles of governance laid down in sharia and elaborated by the rightly guided Caliphs. The ultimate aim of Islamic governance is achievement of development and human welfare.

Unfortunately, the rulers in Muslim countries moved far away from these principles of good governance with the state capture by the elite who instituted dynastic rule, which is completely against sharia.

Clearly the perquisite for good governance in Islam is '€œConscientiousness of Allah the Almighty'€; that He is ever watching and we are all answerable to Him on the day of judgment:

'€œAnd be conscious of the Day on which you shall be brought back unto Allah, whereupon every human being shall be repaid in full for what he has earned, and none shall be wronged.'€ (2:281).

The writer is a former professor of economics at the University of Western Sydney, Australia.