The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah on Tuesday said Malays must prove that they have dignity, always keep their promises and do not tell lies.

He said the Malays should also be proud of themselves, possess high self-esteem and determined to be more willing to give than to receive.

"Help our race by putting the trust and responsibility to Malays who are competent, credible, energetic, skilled, experienced, knowledgeable and who possess integrity, rather than to intermediate persons who are parasitic in character and who engage in wasteful ventures, with capital all gone and no profits."

Sultan Nazrin said this when launching the National Convention on Racial Unity 2016, 'Revisiting the Race Struggle' at Dewan Agung Tuanku Canselor, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), here.

Present was UiTM vice-chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Hassan Said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is the patron of the three-day convention.

Sultan Nazrin said the Malays should also bring honour to themselves by being courteous, with the image of a respectful people; not a feared people.

"Prove that the Malays are smart by stop being storytellers just for the sake of gaining other people's attention or acting like a clown and become a laughing stock.

"With every failure, every mistake committed by a Malay, the whole Malay community will bear the shame," he said.

On UiTM, Sultan Nazrin said it had successfully fulfilled its vision and mission to develop Malay human resources and after 60 years of existence, the university now had 165,000 students and had produced 687,176 graduates.

He also reminded UiTM graduates to be individuals with good values and behaviour such as trust, honesty, piety and integrity.

The National Convention on Racial Unity 2016, spearheaded by UiTM's Faculty of Communication and Media Studies and the university's Institute of Malay Thoughts and Leadership, brings together scholars, thinkers and corporate leaders to share their knowledge to strengthen the spirit of Malay solidarity.

The convention is a platform to discuss the achievements of the Malays and Malay-related issues to serve as a guide, thus contributing to understanding, tolerance and harmonious relations with the other races.

It is also aimed at strengthening patriotism and the Malay identity among the younger generation to produce dynamic future leaders. -- BERNAMA