It was in the immediate aftermath of the May 13, 1969 riots that the wise leaders of the day got together and framed the five principles of the Rukun Negara with the intention of promoting racial unity and bringing about national prosperity and development.

In doing so, they must have thought it fit to place the principle, ‘ Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan / Belief In God’ as the foremost tenet that would guide and unite Malaysians of the various religions.

Unfortunately, however, the reality is that the happenings and events of the past few years have raised serious doubts as to whether the tenet ‘Belief In God’ has succeeded in promoting unity and tolerance among Malaysians of the various religions.

Let’s ask ourselves to what extent has Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (or shall I say, a belief in our respective (or same?) God) brought about the unity dreamt of by the framers of the Rukun Negara?

To spell it out frankly and bluntly, this tenet has not only failed to bring about unity, but quite the reverse, it has brought about a split and caused unease and disharmony among us Malaysians who have been hypocritically announcing to the whole world that we are a very tolerant, broad -minded and peace-loving people.

There have been unpalatable happenings in recent times that would be more than sufficient to convince the dullest of minds that all is not as well as it should be or as it is painted and pictured by politicians deliberately self-cocooned in their own state of denial for the sake of political expediency.

Among the more controversial of issues that have caused much agitation and has been serious cause for concern is the issuance of the edict by the National Fatwa Council banning yoga for Muslims.

The council’s edict causes no loss to Hindus or Hinduism. But to tell the Hindus not to feel hurt, interfere or comment on the reasons given by the council for coming up with the ruling is not too dissimilar to telling the Muslims and Christians not to be offended by some mischievously irresponsible vegetarian’s opinion that the root cause of rape and incest in the country is uncontrollable lust which in turn is the result of over-consumption of beef and beef products!

The reasons given for and the choice of words used to justify the ban has certainly insulted and hurt the feelings of Hindus.

With all due respect to the prime minister, the ‘unkindest cut’ came from him as his remarks on the issue amounted to mean that Hinduism’s polytheism was something very terrible and Muslims could do yoga if they knew how to stay away from the former.

So much for due respect towards and due regard for a minorities’ religion. Whither Islam Hadhari?

Just stretching the faculty of reason or applying one’s critical thinking and deductive skills a little would have got all of us into the correct thinking mode and shed sufficient light towards resolving the whole issue of the suitability of Yoga for all, irrespective of colour or creed.

If it is okay to do physical yoga (Hatha Yoga, which is actually a preliminary to make the body a fit instrument to practise advanced techniques of meditation) because it has been proven to discipline and make the body healthy.

Then isn’t it also logical that the proponents of yoga must have been correct that yoga meditation and chanting ultimately grants the yogi the vision of God, our One Creator?

If physical yoga is accepted as good even by Muslims who have benefitted through their own real experience, why then do they question the experience of the Hindu rishis and yogis in that yogic meditation can lead one to divine communion?

Why confuse the whole issue with all kinds of silly jargon, superstition and abracadabra? Now, only conciliatory words from the right persons can assuage and soothe the pain and hurt away.

The government of the day (all three branches) should play a more pro-active role in ensuring that religious matters are handled tactfully by all parties concerned. Our laws are more than sufficient to deal with any related exigencies. Draconian measures should be the last but not too late resorts.

What is perhaps needed now is a rethink on and a re-prioritising of the elements that have been perhaps mistakenly thought to be crucial to national unity and development.

Instead of ‘Belief In God’, let’s accept the tenet, ‘Kesetiaan Kepada Raja Dan Negara /Loyalty To King And Country’ as the most important of all the five principles of the Rukun Negara.

Let us recite Kesetiaan Kepada Raja Dan Negara first and Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan either next or last. Perhaps putting Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan second line will impress upon our members of Parliament and state assembly persons the importance of civility and good manners.

Let Loyalty to King and country be the focal point for unity among all Malaysians. Surely, no Malaysian, whatever his religion is, whatever his political leanings are, will ever dispute the importance of swearing allegiance to our beloved King and country.

If Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan could hardly us, then there is a compelling and urgent need to find a convergent point to ensure that the existing precarious inter and intra-racial and religious bonds do not disintegrate into chaos.