MALAYSIAN youths of all races and religions should be encouraged to have a vision to be world beaters or champions and not be stuck in time on race and religious issues of the last century.
If Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans and Kadazans are made to believe there is a diabolical plot to wipe out their race, or Muslims, Buddhists, Christians or Hindus are made to believe that their religion is in dire danger of being eliminated, then there will be no inter-ethnic and inter-religious peace, understanding, tolerance and harmony in Malaysia.
Malaysia will also never become a role model to the world of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
There is no diabolical plot to wipe out any race or eliminate any religion in Malaysia, it exists only in the imagination and rhetoric of those who want a race to hate another race or a religion to question the understanding and tolerance of other religions.
This is against two of the objectives of the five Rukun Negara principles, namely “achieving a more perfect unity amongst the whole of society” and “guaranteeing a liberal approach towards her rich and varied cultural traditions”.
Parliament, which will meet for three weeks on Monday (May 22), cannot do better to further national unity than to ensure that all the 222 MPs support and endorse the importance of the five Rukun Negara principles on:
- Believe in God
- Loyalty to King and country
- Supremacy of the Constitution
- The rule of law
- Courtesy and morality
This will be a test of the patriotism and nationalism of Malaysian MPs towards the concept of a Malaysia as envisioned by our founding fathers, which included the first three Prime Ministers — Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn — who were also UMNO presidents. — May 17, 2023
Veteran lawmaker and retired DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang is the former MP for Iskandar Puteri.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
