In one of his earliest pronouncements after becoming Mentri Besar of Terengganu, Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang advised the people, the media and government officials to tell the truth to their political leaders even if it hurts them. If they are wrong, they should be told that they are wrong. Government officials in particular should not try to curry favour with the leaders by concealing the truth from them. They should not indulge in cheap flattery. Hadi s advice is in line with one of the most fundamental principles of Islamic political thought.
Obedience is only to the truth.
As the first of the Righteous Caliphs, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq put it, Behold me, behold me, charged with the care of government. By linking faithful allegiance to telling the truth and the concealment of the truth to treason , the great Caliph had turned upside down the very concept of loyalty and disloyalty prevalent in all feudal cultures. But after the rule of the Righteous Caliphs, and with the expansion of the Muslim empire, feudal traits began to take root. Muslim rulers started to insist upon absolute loyalty to their authority. Those who were unquestioningly loyal but corrupt or oppressive were chosen as Ministers and Advisors over those who were more loyal to God and to the values of justice and compassion embodied in the Quran.