Make Rukunegara the preamble to the Federal Constitution

24 Jan 2017 / 11:57 H.
    Make Rukunegara the preamble to the Federal Constitution
    (L-R) Tan, Shad, Zainah, Firdaus, Marina and Dr Chandra during the lauching of 'Rukunegara Sebagai Mukadimah Perlembagaan'. – Zulkifli Ersal/theSun

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of civil society leaders want to bring the Rukunegara to the centre stage by making it the preamble to the Federal Constitution.
Led by activist Dr Chandra Muzaffar, they said the Rukunegara binds the country's diverse ethnic groups and it reaffirms goals and principles that resonate with the vast majority of Malaysians.
He said if the preamble is anchored to the Federal Constitution that it can be used to fight the extremism that is rearing its ugly head.
"Rukunegar is inclusive, it does not put religion and race above one group or another but instead it puts the nation as a whole above everything else," said Chandra, who is the chairman of "Rukunegara sebagai Mukadimah Perlembagan (RMP)".
He pointed out that they decided to come together as group of more than 100 civil society leaders because as time goes by dissent is no longer being tolerated.
He added it is only through dissent that a nation is built.
Chandra said the sad part today is that there is no political will among some leaders to educate the people about the principles and objectives of Rukunegara.
Chandra said they would carry out activities to popularise the Rukunegara as a preamble, starting by getting more endorsers.
He said they would then present it to the Council of Rulers and hope that they would advise the executive to make it the preamble to the Constitution.
"Former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, who was than the deputy prime minister, helmed the National Consultative Council in 1970 which came up with the Rukunegara and it was read out by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Aug 31, Merdeka Day.
"This is part of the legacy left to Prime Minster Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and we hope he will help us make it the preamble to the Federal Constitution," Chandra said.
He urged people to visit rmp.yayasan1malaysia.org to express their support.
Others present at the event were RMP members Prof Tan Chong Tin, Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi, Zainah Anwar, Firdaus Husni and Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.

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