Why the Rukun Negara matters

Visit the plaque, study the preamble to the five principles and remember. Remember why we have them.

SADLY, we let May 13 pass without any remembrance of that day of infamy in 1969.

Recently, we had the Ruler of Selangor making a strong suggestion that the state lawmakers visit the plaque on which is marked the Rukun Negara to contemplate its meaning.

And more recently, we had the King of Malaysia urging “all parties to uphold every principle of the Rukun Negara and to practise it as a guiding framework in daily life as Malaysians”.

Today, I wish to support and extend the call of the King to all lawmakers, at the state level and at the federal level, to visit and pay their respects to the Rukun Negara plaque and to reflect deeply on what brought about those five principles: the bloody riot on May 13, 1969.

The question here is what should the lawmakers respect and reflect on?

For me, the elephant in the room is our “not respecting” is what caused the plaque to be built in the first place. May 13 was the bloody riot that should be etched in our memory – but it is generally ignored, not talked about, and that is why, I believe, we continue to have politicians using race and religion as weapons.

We will never truly respect the Rukun Negara, I think, if we do not respect and honour all who died on the day in 1969 as our greatest fault and weakness as a nation.

Secondly, I wish to recommend that a second plaque be raised for the preamble of the Rukun Negara to complement the five principles etched on the plaque. Let us remind ourselves what the main points of the preamble are: to build a united society, to honour a democratic nation, to respect liberally tradition and our heritage, to share in prosperity and resources, and to reason with rational thinking of science and technology:

> Achieving closer unity among the entire community.

> Preserving a democratic way of life.

> Creating a just society where the country’s prosperity can be enjoyed together fairly and equitably.

> Forming a liberal attitude towards rich and diverse cultural traditions.

> Building a progressive society that will use modern science and technology.

How can we achieve unity if we use race and religious rhetoric to get the voters’ mandate? How can we respect one another if the best among us do not mitigate the weaponising of race and religion?

How can we honour democracy if we willy-nilly resign from the given mandate of representation? How can we respect democracy if we have a “tebuk atap” philosophy (allowing backdoor politics) with promises of money and titles?

How can we create a just society when we let mob rule through demonstrations and social media hype reign without due process of the law? How can we have justice if criticisms are levelled without knowledge, experience and adab (courtesy)?

How can we allow a liberal respect for all traditions if we do not honour the values, rituals, norms and daily habits within the races that our diversity has afforded us?

How can we build on rational thinking based on science and technology if we can’t even solve the constant flood problems, or – after so many decades – ensure food security, or achieve energy sustainability? What use are our policies on education and research?

And what of the actual five principles? Well, how do we honour “Belief in God” when we do not reflect that only God will judge among all of us. Under God, all, regardless of social status in this world, will stand in equal justice.

We must honour the royals in “Loyalty to King and Country” as our protectors against politicians who think that they are mightier than history, tradition and our Constitution.

We must hold our Constitution high in “Supremacy of the Constitution” but how do we do this when its history, its content, and its spirit are never discussed seriously in our higher education?

We must live according to the sanctity of the law in “Rule of Law”, as it will ensure fairness and justice to all.

And, last but not least, we must always have courtesy and respect with “Courtesy and Morality” that comes from the heart and from our religious and traditional values. We must reject all those who shout and point fingers at simple and honest mistakes of cultural misunderstanding. A sincere “Sorry” is always acceptable as the cure.

Again I say, all lawmakers at state and federal levels should indeed visit the Rukun Negara plaque, and all of them must reflect on not only the five principles but also honour the intentions of the five points in the preamble that forms the framework.

And, if it’s not too much to ask of the lawmakers, think also of the families who lost their loved ones, now buried in the soil of Malaysia (mostly without names), and why the plaque was necessary in the first place.

Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.