Message to Mahathir, Perkasa and Fellow Malaysians
By Din Merican
Prime Minister Najib’s Message to Malaysians on Hari Raya: Tear Down the Walls of Suspicion
Muslims in the country have much to be thankful for to be able to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri in peace and prosperity, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday.“We are free from the wars, conflicts, oppression and natural disasters which some of our brethren elsewhere in this world suffer from,” he said in his Hari Raya message and greetings to the nation.
Najib said the people had to be thankful to the past leadership of the country which had laid a strong foundation for Malaysia’s success today.
“Our thanks must also go to members of the security forces who have sacrificed their lives in the defence of the nation’s independence and sovereignty. Not to be forgotten are the civil servants, teachers, workers, farmers, entrepreneurs and fishermen.” He said all the efforts and sacrifices of everyone were the basis of what the people were enjoying together.
Najib said Malaysia was a democratic, cosmopolitan, multi-religious and multiracial country, with Muslims making up the majority of the population. He said that for more than five decades, Malaysians had successfully faced every challenge, including the ups and downs in racial relations, including the May 13, 1969 riots.
The formula which enabled the people to face all these national challenges well was that Muslims, since the advent of the religion in this region, had adopted the moderate approach in life, in accordance with the command of Allah, he said.
Najib said it was also this moderate approach that had enabled Malaysia to emerge as one of the most developed among the Islamic nations in the world and had also placed the people and country on the right track towards becoming a developed and high-income nation by 2020.
The prime minister advised Muslims to check themselves from getting dragged into extremist activities and ignorance. “If we allow these to take root, it will only mean that we are sowing the seeds of destruction to destroy everything we have built thus far.”
Najib said Muslims, as the majority in the population, had the moral responsibility to uphold the trust of the national leadership, a calling which he said they could not run away from.
“It demands firmness, magnanimity and composure. In fact, since independence, we have fulfilled this trust as well as we could. Every generation should continue to better uphold this moral demand.”
Najib lamented that as a result of succumbing to desires, Islam had today become a misinterpreted religion, with assumptions that were false becoming the norm, such as Islam being the religion of extremists, the backward-looking and not progressive people.
“Actually, the true Islamic teachings are far from these. Islam is in fact a most progressive and tolerant religion. It is universal. In fact, the Islamic way of life is most suitable for the constitution of man and it is apt for all times and situations.”
