KUALA LUMPUR: Strengthening the national unity agenda should not be left to the government but involve every Malaysian, who must take on their respective roles.

Social expert Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran said the government could implement various efforts to achieve the agenda but without support from the public, the true idea of unity would not be fully achieved.

The public could play a variety of roles, including understanding and accepting the sociocultural diversity, the different beliefs and economic achievements among Malaysians and refraining from touching on racial sensitivities.

"So, when we talk of unity, the country is known for having various races and religions, we don't stop or criticise each other but instead have the freedom to adopt whatever culture and customs as long as it doesn't infringe on others.....that's how nation building works," he told Bernama recently.

He added that the role of Malaysians in supporting the national unity agenda is crucial for the Unity Government to achieve the agenda through the principles of Malaysia MADANI.

He said the formation of the Unity Government reflected the new political scenario in the country where a coalition government was needed as no one political coalition obtained a simple majority in the 15th General Election.

"This scenario is very obvious as it's the first time it's happened since Malaysia gained independence over 60 years ago....we can see them (political leaders) needing to unite and work with each other," he said.

In the spirit of unity, everyone needs to understand the importance of balance so that the 'mix' of unity they wish to create would not hurt any single race, Mohammad Shatar said, pointing out that the government had the function to ensure the balance to realise unity in its truest context as each race and religion was not at the same level.

"We as a society should not bash the government if we feel that it prioritises certain races, because it's not about advantages, but to ensure there's a balance in every social composition," he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Datuk Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli said that Malaysians had the duty to protect the existing unity that had been built and should not be stumbling blocks to the country or their own race.

The Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) secretary-general said Malaysians wanted comfort, their children's right to an education, secure jobs and other basic rights, and these fundamentals should make them adopt a positive and mature attitude to create stability in the country.

"If we want the people to think positively, we need to share ideas on social media that emphasise on unity as it is the people's platform today to voice their thoughts, and not only go down to the streets....I think indirectly, this will drown out the negative voices," he added.

-- BERNAMA