What is "rukunegara"

The Rukunegara or sometimes Rukun Negara ( Malay for "National Principles") is the Malaysian declaration of national philosophy instituted by royal proclamation on Merdeka Day, 1970, in reaction to a serious race riot known as the 13 May Incident which occurred in 1969. The incident proved at that time that Malaysian racial balance and stability was fragile. Immediately thereafter, the Malaysian government sought ways to foster unity among the various races in Malaysia. One of the methods used to encourage unity is the Rukunegara.

The word Rukunegara can refer to the whole declaration, the words after the preamble (beginning Maka kami...) or the five principles alone.

The formulation of the principles of the Rukun Negara was the efforts of the National Consultative Council (Majlis Perundingan Negara or MAPEN), headed by Tun Abdul Razak. The aim of the Rukun Negara is to create harmony and unity among the various races in Malaysia (Jeong & Nor Fadzlina, 2012; 2007). Thereafter, the New Economic Policy (1971-1990) was launched in 1971, the aim was to create unity among the various races in Malaysia, through economic equality, via the reduction of the economic gap among the Malays and Bumiputera, with that of the Chinese in Malaysia.