Sin Chew Daily

The nation celebrated its 63rd anniversary on August 31.

On this day 50 years ago, the fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Ismail Nasiruddin Shah launched the Rukunegara, which remains very familiar among Malaysians to this day, in particular students who have been made to memorize each word of it.

Unfortunately while many people can commit every word in Rukunegara to memory, few care to understand its deeper meanings, less so put it into day-to-day practice.

Having been independent for 63 years now, although intercommunity relations have somewhat improved, racism remains very much alive today.

Racist issues continue to be very sensitive in our multicultural society, and some of our irresponsible politicians have kept exploiting such issues to incite public emotions in order to gain some cheap political capital. Such an action has contravened the objectives of the Rukunegara.

It is now time for us to revisit and practice Rukunegara. It is utterly esential for Malaysians to have a profound understanding of the Rukunegara and put its principles into day-to-day living instead of squarely memorizing the words, as this will not help build a prosperous and harmonious multicultural society.

While delivering his national day address, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said Rukunegara should not be just a symbol of the nation but should be practiced by all Malaysians in everyday life.

Indeed, Rukunegara has been in existence for a very long time now, but the thing is: we have to make it an integral part of our daily life as well as our pluralistic society.

The principles of Rukunegara are: Belief in God; Loyalty to the King and Country; Supremacy of the Constitution; Rules of Law, and Courtesy and Morality.

Rukunegara has strived to create a just and more united Malaysian society to ensure that our rich and diverse cultural legacies are preserved. Rukunegara serves as a guiding light to lead the nation towards greater unity, harmony and prosperity.

Prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has proposed to make Rukunegara education the government's core agenda in promoting greater national unity and harmony.

Meanwhile, the national unity and integration department will ensure that Rukunegara clubs are set up in all primary and secondary schools, while Rukunegara secretariats are set up in public and private tertiary institutions, in a bid to promote the understanding of Rukunegara among the students.

In addition to education, the government must also explicitly express its position of "zero tolerance" towards actions and remarks contrary to the Rukunegara, including politicians manipulating sensitive racial issues to create intercommunity conflicts. It is imperative that the government take this very seriously.

From memorizing the principles of Rukunegara to practicing them in daily life, it is necessary for the government to be firm and consistent in order to promote the spirit of Rukunegara in all aspects of Malaysians' lives in building a more united, harmonious and progressive multicultural society.