Add Rukunegara as preamble to Federal Constitution, says group

A group of civil society leaders have proposed the inclusion of the Rukunegara as a preamble to the Federal Constitution, to remedy Malaysia's current state of "slumber".

Prominent activist Dr Chandra Muzaffar told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that many Malaysians today may be "sleepwalking" into dangerous situations,which strayed from universal principles drafted to unite all Malaysians post-1969 May 13 riots.

"I think we are 'sleepwalking' into a situation that can be very dangerous.

"When people are sleep walking, sometimes you don't know what you are doing... You just moved because of certain things and in the end, you have a different state of society," said Chandra who earlier launched the "Rukunegara sebagai Mukadimah Perlembagaan" (RMP) initiative at the Integrity Institute of Malaysia.

Among others, Chandra said the group was concerned with the current situation where people are unaware of societal changes due to certain laws or policies enacted,which may be going against principles of the Rukunegara.

"Were people concerned with how male and female rode on motorcycles before? Were people concerned about hotdogs before?,"said Chandra, alluding to a series of recent decisions made by state religious authorities.

"These are little symptoms here and there... These are the things which affect our society," he added.

'Attempts to redefine Islam'

Asked on how RMP would persuade elected lawmakers to support their initiative, Chandra said "they will give it a try" as it would be a good test of the lawmakers' commitment to the Rukunegara.

In allaying concerns that their proposal would serve as a threat to the position of Malay and Islam under the Federal Constitution, Chandra argued that the group's bigger challenge was against alleged attempts to "redefine" how Islam is being practiced.

"It is an attempt to redefine Islam in a certain way to exclude what many of us feel is the real essence of the faith," he added.

As a comparison, Chandra said Malaysia could look at how Indonesia's founding ideology - the Pancasila - have united its citizens against all forms of racial or religious extremism.

"Just look at the Front Pembela Islam leader... One of the things they used against him was that he went against the Pancasila," said Chandra in reference to Indonesian Muhammad Rizieq Shihab who is reportedly under investigation for alleged blasphemy and defamation of the Pancasila.

Eroding rights

Meanwhile, constitutional law expert Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi said many fundamental rights which were previously available to Muslims in Malaysia have now been taken away under various laws and policies.

"Fundamental rights (under the Federal Constitution) are available to everyone but now we are being told free speech does not apply in issue of tauliah,"he said in reference to the accreditation needed from state religious departments before speaking in local mosques.

He also noted how a lot of things which have been criminalised under Malaysia's religious law are not actual crimes in Islam, for example, disagreeing with a fatwa.

Chandra, Shad Saleem and a group of prominent activists earlier reignited calls for principles of the Rukunegara to be made a reference point for implementation and formulation of Malaysia's public policies.

Chandra said RMP had approached 100 civil prominent individuals for endorsement, after which it is now open for the public to sign their support over the next three months.

The next step, he said, would be to present the initiative for consideration of the Conference of Rulers - as it was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who had in 1970 first declared the Rukunegara - drafted as a uniting factor post-1969 May 13 riots.

"This request from the rakyat will also be submitted to the prime minister, cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and senators," he said.

Chandra, however, added that realisation of the initiative would require a constitutional amendment to be passed with two-thirds majority in parliament.- Mkini