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FORMER Selangor DAP executive councillor Ronnie Liu said the decree by His Royal Highness Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, went far beyond a directive for elected representatives to attend Dataran Selangor.
He described it as a broader reminder for politicians to understand the meaning of respecting the nation, the Federal Constitution, the rule of law, the monarchy and the people of Malaysia.
Liu said the five principles of the Rukun Negara could not be interpreted selectively and must instead be fully internalised as the foundation of Malaysia’s political culture.
“I would like, with utmost humility and deepest appreciation, to thank the Sultan of Selangor for reminding all politicians to return to understanding the true spirit of the Rukun Negara, especially in a political and social climate increasingly filled with emotion and division.
“His Royal Highness’s decree for politicians to attend Dataran Selangor twice a month to engage with the people and appreciate the Rukun Negara is not merely symbolic or a formality.
“Rather, it carries a deeper meaning, which is to remind all politicians to return to the fundamental principles of nation-building,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Ronnie said that as someone long involved in politics and democratic struggles, he deeply valued the supremacy of the Constitution as the pillar of Malaysia’s stability and harmony.
In illustrating his commitment to constitutional principles, he said he named his son Zun Xian, which he said carries the meaning of respecting the Constitution, as a symbol of a future generation that should be built upon respect for the law, constitutional governance and the nation’s founding principles.
“Politics in the new era can no longer be built on hatred, emotion and division, but instead must be founded on maturity, rationality, respect and the future of the country.
“What the people hope for today is not for politicians to continue quarrelling, but to return to the principles of nationhood and work together to build a Malaysia that is more mature, stable, united and full of hope for future generations,” he said.
Earlier, Sultan Sharafuddin instructed Ronnie and Seri Kembangan assemblywoman Wong Siew Ki to read the Rukun Negara weekly in order to better understand its contents and become civilised citizens who respect the royal institution.
The ruler also decreed that all Selangor state assembly members should attend Dataran Selangor twice monthly to recite the Rukun Negara inscribed on a plaque at the square.
The royal remarks followed controversy surrounding Wong’s proposal to allow modern closed-system pig farming in Selangor, made in response to the Sultan’s earlier decree in February rejecting such activities in any district within the state.
Ronnie had defended Wong’s proposal, describing it as a technical solution presented within the framework of legitimate legal institutions.
An online portal also reported that Ronnie had urged pig farmers in Selangor to consider filing for judicial review, while asserting that their rights were protected under the Federal Constitution.
The issue resurfaced after Sultan Sharafuddin reaffirmed that His Royal Highness did not consent to pig farming activities in the state, in line with an earlier royal decree. - May 20, 2026