PRIME Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday unveiled yet another blueprint – the National Unity Blueprint, a 10-year ambitious plan to foster unity in Malaysia.

The plan does not contain anything really new, apart from perhaps the last item, which mentions law and enforcement, an idea once toyed with by the previous government but one that never materialised.

The first item, education on the Rukun Negara, is something that is supposed to have been practised since the 1970s. Every school, every other exercise book and most government buildings have this emblazoned on it, with thousands walking past these each day. It is recited at every school assembly and pledged at every National Day celebration.

Internalising it, however, will take far more than this.

The same applies to items on language – strengthening Bahasa Malaysia and emphasising Mandarin and Tamil lessons, as well as “increasing exposure to different cultures, ethnicities and religions”, if only left at a purely linguistic level, will only serve a superficial purpose.

Much of the consternation between racial and religious groups comes from misunderstanding and the idea of learning more about each other is a right one.

However, this should not deviate from the posture and narrative sent out from parties and individuals within the government. For example, you do not on one hand encourage learning and growing together while on the other try to shut down vernacular schools.

Instead, work to bring the curricula closer and bridge the quality and funding gaps before suggesting anything close to.

Resolving disputes via social mediators (community and religious leaders), too, is an interesting proposition. However, these need to be given proper authority and legal standing, or it remains, again, cosmetic in nature.

A positive possible step, but a politically risky one, could be to introduce a proper, separate ministerial portfolio for non-Muslims, with some legal powers, or at least persuasive influence to make policy recommendations.

An executive-level committee with Muslim authorities, like the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, can then be formed with common footing, with the idea to come up with long-term, workable ideas. This can range between marital and custodial disputes and resolutions for demolition of temples, for example.

This body can also act as a consultative council, a role currently again being divided between Muslim and non-Muslim lines. In doing this, the government sends a signal for inclusivity in decision making, which would resonate with government agencies, government-linked companies and statutory bodies.

This isn’t meant to undermine the special position of Islam in the federal constitution, and by virtue of that, and in no small part due to the religious composition of these agencies itself, that has inadvertently widened such a rift in the first place.

It should be normalised as a “new norm”. An example could be taken from Indonesia, where it is common for a Muslim lawmaker to post greetings for Hindu or Christian or Buddhist religious observations, despite 88% of the population being Muslim, and sometimes in regions where non-Muslims account for less than 0.1%.

Most recently, their chiefs of police and armed forces, neither of them of Chinese descent, both appeared on a TV ad for Imlek (Chinese New Year), despite ethnic Chinese accounting for just 1.2% the national population.

Having a sense of belonging could, in turn, encourage multiracial participation in the civil service. Perhaps to help foster inter-community ties, encourage participation in public service as well as expose students to experience employment, an updated form of national service, with three months mandatory service in the public sector could be introduced. This helps change the emphasis from a military one to one of public service.

Policy, however well intentioned, without political will to execute it would not really succeed. At the end of the day, it is the political posture of the ruling party that sets the tone for the government, cascading layers of civil service and finally, the grassroots rakyat. – February 17, 2021.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.