Rukun Negara: Five Principles, and the Archival File That Records Their Drafting

In the Rukun Negara Committee File at the National Archives of Malaysia there is a letter dated 19 March 1970. It notifies that the first meeting of the Rukun Negara Committee would be held on 31 March 1970, at 10.00 a.m., in the Operations Room, Malaysian Treasury. Thirteen names appear on the circulation list; four more received copies.

Five months later, what had been discussed in that room was read out before tens of thousands of people at the Padang Kelab Selangor.

Rukun Negara is rarely read as a document. It is more often recited — at school assemblies, at official ceremonies, at the opening of a sitting of the Dewan. This article restores it to its original form: the full two-part text, and the archival record of how each line came to be there.

The Official Text: Two Parts, Not One

The official publication of the Department of Information Malaysia (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia) arranges Rukun Negara into two parts. The first part sets out the aspirations; only the second part contains the pledge and the principles.

Part one — the aspirations

OUR NATION, MALAYSIA, is dedicated to achieving the following aspirations:

• Achieving a greater unity among the whole of society;
• Preserving a democratic way of life;
• Creating a just society in which the prosperity of the country can be enjoyed together in a fair and equitable manner;
• Guaranteeing a liberal approach to rich and diverse cultural traditions;
• Building a progressive society that will make use of modern science and technology;

Part two — the pledge and the principles

THEREFORE WE, the people of Malaysia, pledge to dedicate all our energy and effort to achieving these aspirations, based on the following principles:

BELIEF IN GOD LOYALTY TO KING AND COUNTRY SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION RULE OF LAW GOOD BEHAVIOUR AND MORALITY

Notice the link between the two parts. The phrase “these aspirations” in the pledge refers back to the list in the first part. When the first part is omitted — as commonly happens in abbreviated recitations of the pledge — that reference loses its anchor.

Context: Emergency, MAGERAN and a Consultative Council

National Archives records place the drafting of Rukun Negara within the period when parliamentary government was suspended, following the 13 May 1969 racial riots.

The Emergency Proclamation was gazetted and came into force on 16 May 1969 under the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 2, 1969 – P.U.(A) 149. The National Operations Council (MAGERAN), led by Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, was empowered to conduct the country’s affairs from 16 May 1969 until 23 February 1971.

At the fifth MAGERAN meeting, on 6 October 1969, a decision was made to establish the National Consultative Council — a body responsible for discussing and finding solutions to issues relating to national unity. An appendix dated 17 February 1970 lists 66 members, representing Cabinet Ministers, state governments, political parties, religious bodies, professional bodies, the civil service, trade unions, employer unions, teachers’ associations, small groups, journalists and women.

Rukun Negara is a product of that council. It is not an Act of Parliament and not part of the Federal Constitution — it was issued as a Royal Proclamation.

Chronology of the Drafting, According to the File

Date	Event
6 Oct 1969	5th MAGERAN meeting decides to establish the National Consultative Council
27–28 Jan 1970	First meeting of the National Consultative Council, Senate Chamber, Parliament House
2–4 Mar 1970	Council unanimously agrees to establish the Rukun Negara Committee and the Economic Committee; 12 members announced
31 Mar 1970	First meeting of the Rukun Negara Committee, Operations Room, Malaysian Treasury
17 May 1970	Second meeting of the Rukun Negara Committee — draft reviewed paragraph by paragraph
16–18 Jun 1970	Draft debated and accepted subject to amendments
11–13 Aug 1970	Malay- and English-language drafts approved with several amendments
31 Aug 1970	Royal Proclamation; gazetted in the Government Gazette on the same date

The Rukun Negara Committee was chaired by Tun Tan Siew Sin. Its members included Dato Harun bin Idris, Tan Sri Mohamed Ghazali bin Shafie, Professor Dr. Syed Hussein Alatas, Dato Athi Nahappan, Puan Aishah binti Haji Abdul Ghani, Haji Hassan Adli bin Haji Arshad, Leonard Linggi Anak Jugah, Abdullah bin Dato Abdul Rahman, Kamarul Ariffin, Teh Thean Choo and Lee Siew Yee.

The invitation letter for the first meeting was also extended to Dato Salleh Abas from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Encik Zain Arshad from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as James F. Ongkili and Khoo Kay Kim from the University of Malaya.

The initial draft was prepared by the Department of National Unity (Jabatan Perpaduan Negara); a National Consultative Council press statement dated 4 March 1970 records that council members gave input on the department’s draft.

From Seven Pillars to Five Principles

Rukun Negara did not begin with five. The Consultative Council file, dated 18 October 1969 to 10 January 1970, contains a paper titled ‘Pillars of the Nation’ that put forward seven main pillars:

• Godliness (Belief in God or Supreme Being)
• Loyalty (Loyalty)
• Justice (Justice)
• Citizenship (Citizenship)
• Integrity (Integrity of the Nation)
• Happiness (Well-being)
• Decency (Canons of Decency)

Compare that list with the final five principles and the difference becomes visible: Godliness, Loyalty and Decency remain; Justice, Citizenship, Integrity and Happiness do not appear as separate principles, while Supremacy of the Constitution and Rule of Law appear as new principles.

One change in wording is also on record. The Memorandum (Kertas Pertimbangan) prepared by the Rukun Negara Committee to obtain MAGERAN’s approval requested that the phrase “Menjunjung Perlembagaan” (literally “Upholding the Constitution”) be amended to “Keluhuran Perlembagaan” (literally “Supremacy of the Constitution”) — together with drafts in both languages and considerations regarding the manner and date of the proclamation.

The same paper proposed that Rukun Negara be issued as a Royal Proclamation, so that it would be given a “place of honour” and become a guide for the people in social, cultural, economic and political relations.

31 August 1970

The Proclamation was made by His Majesty the Fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the late Tuanku Ismail Nasiruddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Zainal Abidin, at the Padang Kelab Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, on the occasion of the celebration of the 13th National Day.

The royal proclamation speech (titah) stated, among other things, that “Negara kita hendak-lah berdasarkan atas prinsip2 yang bernama RUKUNEGARA” [“Our nation shall be based on the principles named RUKUNEGARA”] — the original spelling as recorded in the National Archives of Malaysia publication. The Department of Information’s press release that day recorded His Majesty’s titah that the principles had been drafted by the government with the advice and cooperation of the National Consultative Council.

1970 was also the year the celebration of “Hari Merdeka” (Independence Day) was renamed “Hari Kebangsaan” (National Day), with the theme Muhibbah dan Perpaduan (Goodwill and Unity). The Pledge of Loyalty (Ikrar Taat Setia) was recited together by 8,000 rally participants at the Padang Kelab Selangor, led by Staff Sergeant Nordin.

Rukun Negara was gazetted on the same day, and a 20 cm × 36 cm print of the pledge was issued by the Department of Information for distribution and display at all government departments and agencies, organisations and schools.

After the Proclamation

On 2 September 1970, a Rukun Negara distribution meeting was held at Parliament House, chaired by Dr. Agoes Salim, Head of the Research Division of the Department of National Unity. Among its decisions:

• The Bahasa Malaysia pamphlet would be the original text; pamphlets in other languages would be translations only.
• All printings in other languages must include the ‘Perisytiharan’ (Proclamation) section in Bahasa Melayu.
• Members of Parliament and Members of State Legislative Assemblies were encouraged to recite the pledge together at the opening of the first sitting each year.
• The Ministry of Education was advised to prepare a Rukun Negara textbook for the Tatanegara (civics) subject.

Following that, Professional Circular Letter No. 2/1971 (Surat Pekeliling Ikhtisas Bil. 2/1971), dated 12 January 1971, was issued by the Ministry of Education, among other things revising the Civics syllabus to incorporate elements of Rukun Negara.

Common Misconceptions

“Rukun Negara is part of the Constitution.” No. It is a Royal Proclamation gazetted on 31 August 1970. Supremacy of the Constitution is one of its five principles, but Rukun Negara itself sits outside the text of the Federal Constitution.

“Rukun Negara is only five principles.” The official text has two parts. Five aspirations precede the five principles.

“All official publications use the same wording.” Official publications differ slightly in the wording of the aspirations. The Department of Information publication states “Menjamin satu cara liberal terhadap tradisi-tradisi kebudayaan yang kaya dan pelbagai corak” (“Guaranteeing a liberal approach to rich and diverse cultural traditions”), while the MyGovernment portal states “Membentuk satu sikap yang liberal terhadap tradisi kebudayaan yang kaya dan berbagai-bagai corak” (“Forming a liberal attitude towards rich and varied cultural traditions”). For an official citation, refer to the Department of Information publication or the Government Gazette.

“It was drafted directly by MAGERAN.” MAGERAN gave the mandate and approved it; the line-by-line drafting was done by the Rukun Negara Committee under the National Consultative Council, based on the initial draft by the Department of National Unity.

What’s next

To understand the legal standing of the principles of Supremacy of the Constitution and Rule of Law, start with the Federal Constitution. For the national context whose aspirations are referenced in this text, see Independence 1957 and Formation of Malaysia 1963. The practice of reciting the pledge at the opening of the first sitting each year is explained in the context of Parliament of Malaysia.

Anyone who wishes to work from primary sources may refer to the publication 50 Fakta Rukun Negara (50 Facts About Rukun Negara) by the National Archives of Malaysia, which lists the accession number for each file — the Rukun Negara Committee File (JPN 221 Bhg. 3), the Consultative Council Papers File, and the Government Gazette of Malaysia, Volume 14, 1970.