SHAH ALAM: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday attributed Malaysia’s securing of a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council also to its success as a multiracial and multireligious nation.
“We can show the world in a humble way through our concept of moderation and politics of compromise,” he said when opening the 43rd national delegates conference of Gerakan at the Setia City Convention Centre here.
Najib said the Barisan Nasional (BN) rejected any form of extremism in its efforts to build the nation in accordance with the foundation laid by past leaders.
Past leaders had drawn up the Federal Constitution based on the politics of compromise and they believed in national integration and not racial assimilation, he said.
“We have Bahasa Melayu as the national language but allow the use of other languages in the country; we also have Islam as the official religion but we allow the practice of other religions without any prohibition,” he said.
Najib, who is also BN chairman, said Gerakan’s victory in the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election in May reflected the resurgence of the party.
He praised Mah for his willingness and courage to take the risk of being the BN candidate in the by-election to fight the young Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud fielded by the DAP.
Najib called on all component parties of the BN to be more focused and to cooperate as a family to ensure the coalition’s survival.
He reminded the leaders of all the BN component parties to practise policies of moderation and balance to ensure that the people continued to support the coalition in the next general election.
He said that under the democratic process practised in the country, the absolute power to elect leaders was in the hands of the people and they were exposed to a lot of inaccurate information on the Internet. — Bernama