UNITY is the word

Friday, 22 August 2008

UNITY is the word

Well, do you agree. Whatever colour is our skin, our blood is still RED. Let us join our hands together. We are born, breed and nurture here, so we are MALAYSIAN. Stay united is the word.

NST Online » Letters2008/08/22
National day: Don't take unity for granted
By : TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE, Kuala Lumpur

AUGUST is of utmost significance to all Malaysians because it is the month to commemorate our independence.

It will be a smaller budget for the 51st Merdeka celebration when compared with the previous years, in view of the present austerity drive by the government.

But despite a drop in its budget, the 51st Merdeka anniversary should remain a spirited event to help remind Malaysians of the significance of the Merdeka celebrations.

We have been independent for 51 years. Although the Malaysian nation may not be perfect, it has weathered many storms and laid the foundation for the attainment of racial harmony and unity.

Let us not jeopardise what we have achieved so far through a spirit of understanding and accommodation. Let us not allow extremism and violence in whatever form to divide the nation, which is our birthplace, our home, our workplace and eventually our final rest destination.

As Malaysians of all races commemorate another anniversary of our independence, allow me to stress once again the very fundamentals that have brought us together, which are the principles contained in the Rukun Negara.

The Rukun Negara 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 the stability, peace and harmony we have attained so far.

Many people are taking unity for granted. This is not a healthy development, for in a multiracial, multireligious and multicultural country like Malaysia, continuous efforts must be made by all Malaysians to nurture and reinforce unity.

Malaysians must be prepared to reduce their strong sense of ethnicity in order to achieve "Bangsa Malaysia". We should start accepting each other as Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, and should not be preoccupied with ethnic origin.