Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.
– ABRAHAM LINCOLN, US 16TH PRESIDENT
The National Principles oath was something that I recited every single week with hundreds if not thousands of others pupils nationwide during my schooling days.
It is pertinent, given the current situation in the country today that we reflect on the sacred oath.
It began with: “Maka kami, rakyat Malaysia, berikrar, akan menumpukan, seluruh tenaga dan usaha kami, untuk mencapai cita-cita tersebut, berdasarkan prinsip-prinsip berikut. (Now therefore, we, the people of Malaysia, pledge to concentrate our energy and efforts to achieve these ambitions based on the following principles).”
Followed by “Kepercayaan kepada tuhan; kesetiaan kepada raja dan negara; keluhuran perlembagaan, kedaulatan undang-undang dan kesopanan dan kesusilaan. (Belief in God; loyalty to the king and country; supremacy of the constitution; rules of law and courtesy and morality).”
The National Principles were adopted to foster national unity and stability and to promote racial harmony in what was still a relatively newly independent country.
In context, this was introduced following the May 13 incident in 1969 which weakened unity in Malaysia.
It was declared by royal proclamation on National Day, August 31 1970, the 13th anniversary of the Independence of Malaysia. I think, now, 52 years later, is as good a time that we reflect on this.
Aside from belief in God, which I think in general, we are God-fearing men and women, the other four principles have somehow eroded in its impact towards the society.
We now see the supreme powers of the Malay rulers as well as His Majesty the King being challenged – be it intentionally or unintentionally.
It is now put up for debate in the public domain, where political operatives and support group chastise and even demean the stature and prerogative of which the rulers possess.
Recently, we see a certain former attorney-general saying what His Majesty can and cannot do in regards to the latter’s high prerogative to grant clemency.
This is followed by a slew of comments on social media giving their views on why a pardon would be a waste of time.
I mean, excuse me, are we kings now? These people do know that His Majesty does have the high prerogative on the matter and regardless of what his decision turns out to be, it cannot, at all, be challenged?
It may be shocking to many, but we do practise a system of parliamentary democracy WITH constitutional monarchy. As much as we cherish our democracy in our parliaments, we still have the Malay rulers to stand watch.
It is therefore saddening to see some belittling the supreme powers of the rulers and second guessing them when in fact, they should be staunch defenders of the latter.
They should not be saying Daulat Tuanku whenever it only aligns with their nonsensical political interests.
In terms of supremacy of the constitution, of course, there will constantly be amendments to ensure that it is in line with the times – laws can be enacted, and it can be repealed.
But don’t drag the constitution in political arguments without the proper interpretation needed. You are only muddying the waters.
Same goes for rules of law – “kedaulatan undang-undang”. The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Of course, there is the judiciary. But the judicial system must remain independent and not prejudiced. We should not say that the judiciary is only neutral whenever it is in our favour and partial when it is otherwise.
Due process must be given – citizens must be entitled to their legal rights and be heard before an impartial judge.
Lastly is courtesy and morality. To say that this has been our shortcoming of late, is an understatement.
We now see people adopting the mentality of wanting to be proven right even though they are wrong – the toxic netizen culture is of no help. People are fighting on what seems to be petty issues.
Race-relations are somewhat challenged and name-calling has been the accepted norm. Issues that are deemed sensitive are treated as fair game to everyone – always trying to instigate and see how the other person reacts.
It was this kind of polarisation that prompted the National Principles to be adopted and no doubt, if we somehow forget about this, it would be our own doing.
In the spirit of the National Day and the upcoming Malaysia Day, let us reflect on what has transpired. Let us correct our own course.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
