Malaysians urged to revert back to the Rukun Negara

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup has called on the people to revert back to the Rukun Negara to remind them of what the nation's forefathers had put in place to ensure unity was preserved.

He said the Rukun Negara was Malaysia's brand for national unity and a mark of the people's evolution as a nation.

"In the span of 56 years of our nationhood, we are now witnessing dramatic deterioration in our culture of moderation by ignoring our founding social contract, a respected compromise between our founding fathers, which is not only paralyzing the nation, but had become a 'fertile ground' for extremism, radicalism and fanaticism to grow.

"We need to stop this insane individuals and groups from exploiting our misunderstandings and past mistakes. We cannot allow them to hijack our unity, our peace and our future," he said at a dinner hosted by the Sabah state government in conjunction with the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2014, here on Saturday night.

Also present was Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin and State Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.

Kurup, who is also Chairman of the Committee on the Promotion of Understanding and Harmony Among Religious Organisations, said everyone was responsible for Malaysia's well-being and progress as well as unity.

He said unity in the country was precious and without it, no progress was possible.

"It is time we stop putting blame on others and instead, begin trying to make a difference within our societies," he said.

According to Kurup, self-interest should be secondary to national interest and the people must learn to forgive and forget and be pragmatic in finding a win-win solution to problems.

"As long as Malaysians continue to hold to the attitude of respect, tolerance and moderation, then there will not be any quarters that will be able to split us apart," he said.