Make Rukun Negara the preamble to the Federal Constitution

THE Rukun Negara should be made the preamble (muqadimmah) to the Federal Constitution. There are seven compelling reasons for suggesting this.

One, the objectives of the Rukun Negara are linked to values which are perennial – values such as unity, justice and freedom. Preambles of most constitutions embody this timeless quality since they are meant to serve people beyond the present.

Two, the objectives and the principles of the Rukun Negara are inclusive. They transcend gender, ethnicity, religion and region. This is what makes the Rukun Negara, potentially, a force for unity in a diverse society.

Three, the Rukun Negara commands a high degree of legitimacy. All its principles and objectives resonate with the vast majority of Malaysians. This includes the belief in God, on the one hand, and the commitment to a democratic way of life, on the other. Besides, this national philosophy or ideology as it has been dubbed was produced by a National Consultative Council – albeit operating under Emergency Rule – which represented a wide cross-section of society. All religious groups had seats in the council. Both labour and business were included. All major political parties from the government and the opposition with the exception of one participated in the NCC under the chairmanship of Tun Abdul Razak. It is equally significant that the Rukun Negara was proclaimed to the nation by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Aug 31, 1970.

Four, given its legitimacy, its inclusiveness and its timelessness, the Rukun Negara should now be endowed with the force of law. Only then will the courts be able to bestow it with meaning and substance. Though some judges have over the decades alluded to the Rukun Negara in their judgments, it has no role in the adjudication process.

Five, since perceptions of state and society have become more and more polarised in recent years, it would make sense to bring back to the centre a philosophy which has the capacity to draw people together. There is no reason why Malaysians of different backgrounds and persuasions should not rally around a set of objectives and principles like the Rukun Negara.

Six, the elevation of the Rukun Negara has become imperative partly because of the sometimes subtle push by sections of the Muslim populace for laws and policies that reflect their own particularistic interpretation of Islam which does not always represent the essence of the faith and its practice. Because this tendency is getting stronger, we have to empower a philosophy which is all-embracing and yet resonates with Islamic values and aspirations. The Panca Sila, the guiding principles of the Indonesian state which has many parallels to the Rukun Negara, and is deeply rooted in the psyche of the people has undoubtedly played an effective role in checking bigotry and dogmatism in the world’s largest Muslim nation.

Seven, as against the bigotry of some Muslim groups, there is the other trend associated with a segment of the non-Muslim citizenry that in the name of hidebound secularism seeks to deny religion any role at all in the public square. In a society where Islam has been a fundamental factor in shaping the identity of the majority of the people, it is naïve to try to marginalise the religion when addressing societal concerns. It is how Islam is understood and practised that is the critical challenge. The Rukun Negara at least attempts through its first principle, the belief in God, to articulate a universal vision of faith that transcends religious boundaries which is reinforced in its fifth principle by a notion of good behaviour and morality that is not confined to a specific community.

The quest to make the Rukun Negara the preamble of the Federal Constitution has a long history behind it. In early 1971, the late Professor Syed Hussein Alatas, in an essay entitled, “The Rukunegara and the Return to Democracy in Malaysia” (Pacific Community Volume 2, Nos 1-4, Tokyo) argued that the Rukun Negara could fulfil the function of a preamble.

“It can be considered”, he wrote, “as an appropriate introduction to the Constitution. It reflects the predominant trend in the political and philosophical thinking of the nation.” It is interesting that he also observed “that the late Dato Onn bin Ja’afar, the founder president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the first major political leader that emerged from post-war Malaya, lamented to me privately that the Constitution did not contain a preamble.”

After the Rukun Negara was inaugurated as the nation’s philosophy in August 1970, Tun Razak and his deputy, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, gave some emphasis to the document through schools and the media.

On their demise in the mid-seventies, Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn and one of his key ministers, Tun Muhammad Ghazali Shafie, continued to champion the Rukun Negara.

It was from the eighties onwards that the national philosophy began to recede into the background. In 2005 and 2006, there was a brief effort to revive the document but it did not take off.

From the early eighties, a handful of us – civil society activists and academics – tried to keep the Rukun Negara alive through our writings and via seminars and forums.

The Rukun Negara’s objectives and principles were used as yardsticks to measure the performance of the powers that be. Our modest endeavours did not make a dent.

Now some of us are once again seeking to raise the status and role of the Rukun Negara. In the midst of the new challenges that have surfaced, making the Rukun Negara the preamble to the Constitution will give it the weight and value it deserves.

It will be so much easier for the citizen to insist that those who wield power and authority should through deeds prove that they are genuinely committed to the objectives and principles of the Rukun Negara.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan1Malaysia. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com