The Drafter of the Rukun Negara Was Born in Kampar, Perak
The Rukun Negara is Malaysia's national ideology. It was formulated on August 31, 1970, by the National Operations Council, one year after the tragedy of May 13, 1969, which had shattered the nation's unity and peace.
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato Dr. Khoo Kay Kim, a native of Kampar, Perak, was a prominent historian in Malaysia. Born on March 28, 1937, he received the title of Professor Emeritus from the University of Malaya.
He held a B.A. (1959), M.A. (1967), and PhD (1974) from the University of Malaya. He earned his PhD based on his thesis titled 'The beginnings of political extremism in Malaya 1915-1935' in 1973, supervised by Prof. Kennedy G. Tregonning, who later served as a history professor at Raffles College, Singapore.
For our loyal readers at orangperak.com, interestingly, this Kampar-born native, Khoo Kay Kim, was one of the authors who drafted the Rukun Negara as it is structured today.
For 60 years, Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato Dr. Khoo Kay Kim studied the nation's history. To him, the Rukun Negara was a national ideology; in 1969, a proposal emerged to form and create a national ideology aimed at bringing the people closer together.
In case you didn't know, he was also the first Malaysian to receive a PhD from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malaya since its establishment in 1949. Among his significant contributions, besides being one of the authors who drafted the Rukun Negara, was his role in establishing the History Department at Universiti Malaya in 1975.
As a national historian and renowned academic, he received several awards in recognition of his service. In June 1983, he was awarded the J.S.M. (Johan Setia Mahkota), and in April 1987, he was awarded the D.P.M.P. (Darjah Paduka Mahkota Perak), which carries the title of Dato.
- Belief in God
- Loyalty to King and Country
- Supremacy of the Constitution
- Rule of Law
- Courtesy and Morality
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato Dr. Khoo Kay Kim passed away due to lung failure on May 28, 2019, at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, at the age of 82.
