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PETALING JAYA: On what would have been the 118th birthday of Malaysia’s founding father, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang says the best way to honor the life of Tunku Abdul Rahman would be to realize the dream of the first prime minister for the nation.
In a statement, Iskandar Puteri’s MP said he was sad that Malaysia was still haunted by the use of race and religion in politics, describing it as “narrow and intolerant”.
He said Malaysia will not be able to succeed until all citizens are recognized first as Malaysians, then followed by their race and religion.
“Nobody is asking Malaysians to stop being Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Iban or Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists. But everyone must unite first and foremost as Malaysians.
Malaysians must remember Tunku’s famous words for Malaysia, ‘Be a beacon of light in a difficult and distracted world’, and be an example of the success of the alliance of civilizations, as we are at the confluence of four great civilizations: the Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western. “
Lim praised the Tunku for declaring that the strength of the nation lay in its people, with the unifying bond that all of its citizens are Malaysians.
He quoted a quote from the first prime minister: “Any talk about the Islamic state is just an empty dream. No man in the proper sense would accept a nation that bases its political administration on religion, and in a country like Malaysia with its multi-racial and multi-religious people, there is no place for an Islamic state.
Tunku Abdul Rahman was born on February 8, 1903. He was the Chief Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 to 1957 before serving as Prime Minister from 1957 to 1970. He passed away on December 6, 1990.
