Kurup: Religious and racial controversies hamper national unity

KUCHING, Sept 1, 2014: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Joseph Kurup has expressed his concern that Malaysia will never make real progress if national unity is constantly hampered by religious and racial controversies.

"It is evident that in recent decades, the forces unleashed by our ethnic mix have grown stronger. Our communities seem to have grown apart. Our schools have become less diverse and our communities more polarized," he said when officiating at a Merdeka Day gathering organised by the Baha'i Community in Malaysia at the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council Civic Centre in Selangor last night.

 He added:" Religious practices had taken on less tolerant interpretations. This is not a problem we can ignore in the hope it will go away."

He said that the government is making efforts to make the people understand and accept diversity as the basis of national unity.

"Our diversity must be seen as a blessing if it is not to be a cause for disunity. Every Malaysian must understand and accept our diversity as a blessing, that it is a source not just of cultural vitality but also of social, intellectual and economic advantage," Kurup stressed.

He said the 1Malaysia programme is thus the clarion call for Malaysians from all walks of life to rise to this singular challenge.

"The 1Malaysia programme serves to remind us of the single most important issue we face as a society, one that will make or break this beautiful country: our unity in diversity.

"It is a steady focus on mending alienation, preventing polarization, and bridging social divides because of a deep rooted sense that we are one and we all belong here, and because we all know there cannot be unity without a basic equity," he said.

However, Kurup admitted that 1Malaysia is not an answer but a question, repeated constantly and in different real-life circumstances: how do we build community, how do we forge unity out of diversity, how do we manage tensions that set community against community?

"How do we prevent or reduce such divides? It is a question of how to be of constant openness and of how to find solutions around a single key challenge," he said.

He said the  appreciation of unity cannot be just in words, but it must be translated into deeds.

"Let us therefore begin by reaching out to our neighbours and friends in love and harmony and foster meaningful community building initiatives.

"We cannot be satisfied by prayer meetings of this kind once a year, rather, we urge people of diverse backgrounds and faiths in our neighbourhood to come together in prayer in home settings, as often as possible," Kurup said.

He said that for the sake of political stability as much as economic development, a united Malaysia is prerequisites for economic transformation of the country.

"I have said before and I will say it again, except for a few bigots, racists and extremists and despite all of the signs of frustration in our nation today, I am optimistic, the moderates - the silent majority, shall overcome the prevailing challenges for a better Malaysia, a Malaysia that our future generations will be proud to call themselves as Malaysian," Kurup added.