GEORGE TOWN – “Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan” or Belief in God which is enshrined in the Rukun Negara should hold primacy as the basis of our nationhood.
Without this first tenet of the five-principle Rukun Negara everything else just crumbles.
This is the stark of reminder of Cardinal Bishop Datuk Seri Sebastian Francis of the primary fabric that holds the country together.
“You (can’t) take the first premise of the Rukun Nagara out and talk about all the other things such as culture, language (and other things). The foundation (remains to be) “Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan” (belief in God),” Bishop Sebastian said.
While the other principles Loyalty to King and Country; Supremacy of the Constitution; Rule of law; and Courtesy and Morality are also important, Bishop Sebastian said they all hinged on the first tenet.
Fresh from participating in the Conclave on May 7 in the Vatican which gave Catholics Pope Leo XIV, the Bishop of Penang acknowledged that in these times, the first principle of the Rukun Negara could be the most difficult to handle.
“While we can talk about unity, diversity, and so on, ‘Belief in God’ is where we are going to get entangled in sooner or later, depending on many other factors,” he said in an interview with Scoop, at the Catholic Diocesan Centre at Macalister Road here on May 29.
As the world, and the Catholic Church itself is adjusting to technological advancements that raise various ethical concerns and socio-political issues, Bishop Sebastian expressed concerns that the global community is facing the challenge of “choosing an artificial mentality” over a mentality which speaks about the primacy of God, like what is being enshrined in the Rukun Negara or Indonesia’s Pancasila.
“Faith in God is the first principle in both nations’ foundational philosophies,” he stressed.
“You take that off, the whole thing collapses – full stop. Pope Leo XIV is first and foremost a man of God, and that is why we put him there. “That is why God appointed him. He has to be first a man of God, not a man who can address the political issues around the world.”
Bishop Sebastian explained that the Pope addresses global issues as a man of God not a politician.
“Because the values are quite different.”
Acknowledging the fact that the perspective of the head Vatican Church is highly regarded on issues related to the climate crisis, migrant rights and other issues, Bishop Sebasian reiterated that the pope is “fundamentally the man of God”.
Bishop Sebastian, 73, was elevated to the rank of Cardinal in September 2023 by the late Pope Francis. He was the second cardinal from Malaysia after the late Cardinal Archbishop (Emeritus) Anthony Soter Fernandez.
He made history as the first Malaysian cardinal to vote in the conclave, which saw the election of the first North American pope – Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago. – June 4, 2025