KUALA LUMPUR: A group of civil society leaders today launched an initiative to make the Rukunegara the preamble to the Federal Constitution.
The initiative, called the Rukunegara sebagai Mukadimah Perlembagaan (RMP), aims to relaunch the national document as the opening statement to the country's most supreme law.
RMP chairperson Dr Chandra Muzaffar said the Rukunegara reaffirms goals and principles that resonate with the vast majority of Malaysian citizens, thus it has to be brought centrestage by anchoring it in the Constitution as its preamble.
More than 100 prominent members of the civil society have endorsed the initiative, and RMP will carry out promotional activities to garner more endorsers.
Those leading the campaign include constitutional expert Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, social activists Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and Zainah Anwar, academicians Professor Datuk Sr Tan Ching Tin and Associate Professor Dr Madeline Berma and lawyer Firdaus Husni.
The Rukunegara was presented on Merdeka Day in 1970 as an ideology that sought to establish a common platform for Malaysia's diverse communities to live together in harmony.
Formulated in the aftermath of the May 13 riots, its popularity as a document to bind the country's ethnic groups has since declined.
"In a period of doubt and cynicism in some minds about the supremacy of our Constitution, the Rukunegara could provide a clarion call to respect the letter, spirit, and historical background of the basic law," said Dr Shad Faruqi.