Letter for us
Merdeka anniversary: Bridge that racial divide
AS Malaysia celebrates its 50th Merdeka anniversary, it is indeed an opportune time for all to reinforce their love for the nation.
Allow me to stress once again that the fundamentals that have brought us together are the very principles contained in Rukun Negara and the Constitution. Rukun Negara was formulated in 1970 and set out to achieve consensus with regard to national aspirations among the races.
Rukun Negara, through its five tenets — belief in God, loyalty to king and country, upholding the Constitution, rule of law, and good social behaviour and morality — have formed the principles of our nationhood and these should be impressed on our younger generation.It is our guide for nation-building and should be respected by all. It is a shared vision for national unity.
Its principles should always be upheld and practised for we must never take for granted our stability, peace and harmony.On the contrary, efforts must be made to make sure that ethnic integration and religious harmony are maintained as they are the foundations for peace and unity in our multiracial nation.
Let us not allow extremism and violence to divide the nation. Whether Malaysia will succeed as a multi-racial nation depends on whether our young ones are prepared to accept each other as Malaysians with a common destiny. Young people must be unconscious of the fact that the person sitting next to him is of another race and religion. They must be aware of only one thing, that he is their friend.
With each passing day, I am more convinced that Malaysians must break down the racial divide, reach out and make friends with those from other communities. Youth of different races must strengthen racial integration. Schools are the ideal place to promote racial integration. Teachers and parents must help out in this process. Parents must encourage their children to mix with others of different races so that they can better understand one another’s religion, culture and way of life.
Conscious and sustained efforts must be made to break the racial divide among students of diverse races to overcome racial polarisation.In this connection, the introduction of National Service is one way of dealing with polarisation.Parents should encourage their children to take part in the programme as it instils discipline, patriotism, goodwill and unity in young people.
Today’s students are our future leaders. Upon their shoulders lie the responsibility of building a united nation.
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