On the 8th of December last year, an open letter was sent by a group of 25 prominent Malay personalities, calling on “moderate Malays, Muslims and Malaysians” to speak out against “extremist, immoderate and intolerant voices”.

The 25 signatories include retired senior civil servants such as former Secretary-Generals, Director-Generals, and ambassadors.

Melisa Idris speaks to two representatives of the G25 on the Breakfast Grille: Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, former Secretary-General of the Finance Ministry, and Dato’ Latifcah Merican Cheong, the former assistant government of Bank Negara.

They both call for a public discussion on the place of Islamic laws within Malaysia’s constitutional democracy, the urgency to address the breakdown of federal-state division of powers, and the rise in moral-policing throughout the country.