At present, we\nlive in a world where plurality shapes the very essence of societies. Cultural,\nreligious and also ethnic diversities call for us to learn more about each\nother and understand the sensitivities that exist within these various social\ngroups. In dealing with diversities, differences in views and practices are\nalso considered a normalcy but must be managed carefully. Malaysia is no\nexception to this. Building and sustaining positive racial and cultural\nrelations must be made a top priority for the government of the day. As there\nis a growing concern that we are now at a time where unity among the different\nraces and cultures are being tested, efforts must be put into place to address\nthe issues related to unity and making it sustainable. One must appreciate the\nreality that it is truly an uphill endeavour for any polity to juggle between\ndealing with the complexities related to racial and cultural diversity, and at\nthe same time, trying to remain popular and relevant to all segments of the\nsociety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As national\nunity is actually a process, the main difficulty to achieving its objectives is\ndue to the lack of sincerity among parties vying for power and the failure of\nthe general public to not be trapped into the sentiments of partisan politics.\nAs Malaysians, we need to be aware that in any political battle, be it in\nMalaysia or any other countries characterised by plural societies, the race card\nwill always be put on a leverage for popular support. The peril to this is clear\nespecially when short-thinking and emotions are not guided by wisdom, respect\nfor the rule of law especially the Federal Constitution and failure to embrace\nthe fact that cultural and racial diversity is the character of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Islam for instance, diversity of the humankind is actually one of the signs of God\u2019s greatest creation and this is reflected in the Quranic verse: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted with all things. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Al-Hujurat<\/em>, 49: 13) <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nlackadaisical efforts in preserving and strengthening national unity will be\ndisastrous to the survival of the nation and also to the credibility of any\ngovernment. Much is at stake when there is no unity among the various ethnic\ncommunities in the society, since it threatens the beautiful promises of\ndemocracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For national unity to flourish, respect must also be\nthe leading principle in engaging with the differences of perspectives that\nexist in a multiracial and multi-religious\nsociety like Malaysia. Intercultural interactions and engagements should also\nbe based on trust as it would strengthen the foundation of unity. In the event\nof any threats to the nation, either political or economic, a society that has\na great level of trust and respect towards one another would be able to weather\nthose troubling times. In addition, as members of the community, we\nshould not condone any elements of prejudice and feelings of hatred to become\nthe basis of our interactions, nor should we condone any attempt to use ethnic\nand cultural differences as the trump card for sectarian, political or personal\ngains as this would be divisive and detrimental for the well-being of the\ncommunity and the nation as a whole. Therefore, the right formula is national unity should be based on the\nspirit of togetherness and mutual understanding. As a country that upholds this\nnoble spirit, rooms for engagement with all different ethnic groups in the\nsociety must always be kept open. This is especially true given that democracy\nis all about giving the voice of the people to be heard, not just through the\nballot boxes, but also through continuous dialogues and discussions. Most\nimportantly, it must be conducted with decorum and according to the rule of\nlaw. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally,\nMalaysians must uphold the common shared values that stress on the values of\nmoderation, the spirit of giving, togetherness and avoidance of conflicts. All\ncitizens must take the initiative to nurture within themselves a sense of\nbelonging to the multicultural setting of the society and learn to care for one\nanother. Only through these,\nwould the society develop the common understanding on the priority to move\nforward together rather than to let the country trod downwards into chaos and\ndisharmony. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At present, we live in a world where plurality shapes the very essence of societies. Cultural, religious and also ethnic diversities call for us to learn more about each other and understand the sensitivities that exist within these various social groups. In dealing with diversities, differences in views and practices are also considered a normalcy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-straits-times","category-139","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26034\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}