An Inclusive and Humanistic Rukunegara 2.0
By Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser
The Rukunegara has been taken for granted for too long. It is important to remember that the Rukunegara or “National Principles” was instituted in 1970, a few months after the May 13 Incident in 1969 while the country was being ruled under Emergency decree by the National Operations Council (NOC) from 1969 to 1971. In other words, these “National Principles” were not legislated by a democratically elected government. Thereafter, the New Economic Policy was launched in 1971 and the rest is history…
Apart from the fait accompli after May 13 in which the Rukunegara was introduced, the first principle it espouses, namely, “Belief in God” is presumptuous and can hardly be considered inclusive when we take into account the numbers of Malaysians who are pantheists or atheists. Buddhists and Hindus can express their views on this principle but as a pantheistic animist whose rituals include ancestor worship and bird watching, I find this attitude not only imperialistic but that it also jars with our Federal Constitution. This principle has now been inserted in the Education Blueprint and has recently been used as the justification to reject the proposed Harmony Bills by the NUCC.
Our Federal Constitution is multi-religious
It matters little when Prime Ministers who have little legal understanding opine that Malaysia is an Islamic state. The fact remains that “Malaysia’s greatest judicial figure” (in the words of the Malaysian Bar), the late Tun Mohamed Suffian bin Hashim, pronounced that:
“Though Islam is the religion of the Federation, Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and practice his religion.” (“An introduction to the Constitution of Malaysia”, 1972:183)
Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, the Tunku, was a lawyer who also went through the Independence struggle. His statement in Parliament on May 1, 1958, makes this point clear:
“I would like to make it clear that this country is not an Islamic state as it is generally understood; we merely provided that Islam shall be the official religion of the state.”
On numerous occasions in his later life, he reiterated the fact that Malaysia is a secular state. A secular state typically involves granting religious freedom.
Religions diversity a rich resource
The diversity of religions in the world has been a fact throughout the history of humankind and this diversity is a rich resource for community rather than contention. Religious diversity is an important component of cultural diversity although some unfortunate people harbor the thought that their religion is superior to others and regard such religious chauvinism as a necessary component of religious commitment. It made me smile when I saw this bumper sticker the other day:
“I’VE GOT NOTHING AGAINST GOD. IT’S HIS FAN CLUB I CAN’T STAND!”
Malaysia, like the rest of the world, is made up not only of devotees of monotheistic religions (who believe in the one God) but also pantheistic religions (who do not believe in a distinct anthropomorphic god), animists and ancestor worshippers. Ancestral veneration is a way of continuing to show respect toward our ancestors, reinforcing the unity of family and lineage. It was a practice in ancient China that even predated Confucius and was a common belief system of cultures all over the world before the advent of the “great religions”. The Orang Asli and other indigenous peoples also practice ancestor worship.
For thousands of years, humans viewed the Earth as a sacred place with divinity everywhere. Most indigenous peoples, including our Orang Asli, are animists who hold a holistic interdependent belief of living in harmony with the world in which spiritual essence exists in animals, plants, inanimate objects and all phenomena. With the wanton destruction of our environment and our toxic industries, who can say that their animistic perspective is backward?
Religious diversity is a norm that can clearly enrich our understanding and appreciation of one another in our brief life on this planet. However, the first principle of the Rukunegara fails to recognize such diversity and this is the reason we need a new Rukunegara 2.0.
Inclusive and humanistic
Thus, to be legitimate Rukunegara 2.0 has to be passed through Parliament and not by emergency decree backed by the military. It is time to revisit our “National Principles” in order to ensure that they are inclusive of all religions and belief systems; humanistic and based on reason and respect for others; based on universal values; cherishing beauty and joy in our country, its peoples and Malaysian nature; exploring our world and the universe through science, and inculcating love and compassion to make ours a better world for everyone.
