Sabah to be a case study…
Kota Kinabalu: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of National Unity and Social Wellbeing Waytha Moothy Ponnusamy said Sabah’s success in maintaining ethnic and religious harmony will be shared with Peninsular Malaysians through various programmes.
He said the government is also looking at policies and laws to strengthen racial and religious harmony in the country.
“I’m impressed with Sabah. Many of the families here have Christians and Muslims yet have no problem in eating together. People in peninsula should learn from them.
“We’re looking at policies and laws. There’s an action plan on harmony which will be tabled soon.
I think it will be ready in December or early January. Once the plan is in place, we will carry out a lot of programmes to enhance racial and religious unity,” he said.
On how the programmes would be different from others previously initiated, Waytha said it would be more inclusive, comprehensive and take into account past failures.
“It will be comprehensive and more inclusive. It will take into account previous failures.
We have to admit that some of our previous programmes failed to unite the people.
The current plan will take into account the previous mistakes. We will rectify and make it even better.”
The Minister said a team of experts are currently looking at the mistakes and failures and will come up with a proposal once completed.
In his message, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal stressed that ethnocentrism and racism have no place in Sabah.
He warned that such negative culture could only cause harm to the good relationship among the people of different ethnics and faiths in the state.
“We don’t want ethnocentrism and racism to be a culture among the people. Sabah is made up of people from different ethnic communities and religions, which is unique and this valuable heritage must be preserved for generations to come.
“Let us always be sensitive and respectful of the diverse beliefs we have in the state,” he said, when closing the Inter-Faith Harmony Programme, Saturday. His speech was delivered by Law and Native Affairs Minister Datuk Aidi Mokthar.
He said the Government is always committed to the National Unity Agenda and demands the same commitment from the people to preserve ethnic and religious harmony to the best of their ability.
He singled out the programme as important to promote understanding and tolerance among religious leaders through inter-faith dialogues based on the basic faith concept accepted by all religions which is “Love God and Love One Another.”
“Any doubts that arise concerning the issue of religion can be resolved and managed effectively when there’s space for interactive dialogue and positive discussion. This fosters harmony in the community that is made up of people from different religion and race,” he added.
Among the programme activities was a visit by participants to selected places of worship such as the Tzer Ying Temple, Mary Immaculate Church, Sri Pasupathinath Alayam Temple and the Nurul Hikmah Mosque.
The programme was organised by the State National Unity and Integration Department. – Leonard Alaza
Source: Daily Express
