PUTRAJAYA: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin yesterday called on Malaysians not to destroy the prevailing unity in the country just to fulfil the demands of a few extreme and greedy, selfish individuals.
AN HONOUR: Tuanku Mizan (left) handing the award to Zeti at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. — Bernama photo
“The nation’s development plans will be hampered if the prevailing unity and harmony is not protected,” the King said in conjunction with the national-level Ma’al Hijrah 1432 celebration at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, here, yesterday.
Tuanku Mizan said the country would be exposed to regression and destruction if the people were always suspicious of and fighting with each other.
“The people are jointly responsible for ensuring continued peace and prosperity in the country to be inherited by future generations.”
The King said to achieve the desired level of unity was not easy, hence all parties must play their role and prove their sincerity in achieving that goal.
Tuanku Mizan said all the different races must understand and respect each other and have a give-and-take attitude for the sake of peace and harmony.
“As for the Muslims, they should help build the ummah and beloved country based on faith and solidarity.
“And learn from the Hijrah incident with realisation and resignation.”
On the Hijrah incident (flight of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina), the King said it brought positive change and transformation to the attitudes and way of life of the Muslims, as well as showed the need for sacrifice and diligence to achieve success in this world and the hereafter.
“Muslims need to emulate the Muhajirin and Ansar who were willing to sacrifice their own interests for Islam. All these lessons will be lost in the annals of history if we continue to be lax and are only proud of the glory achieved by the ummah of yore while we ourselves have not changed to achieve success,” he said.
The King hoped Malaysians would continue to work at maintaining racial unity and for Muslims to imbibe this year’s Ma’al Hijrah theme ‘1Malaysia, 1Ummah’.
Tuanku Mizan also suggested that all quarters, especially government agencies and the private sector, enhance programmes that promoted religious values to produce human capital with a high level of integrity.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, in his speech at the event, called for the preservation of harmony, saying the people should value diversity and not let it be destroyed by extremism.
Present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman as well as former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. — Bernama
Some 4,000 people attended the celebration.
In Kota Baharu, Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V launched the state-level Maal Hijrah celebration Monday night and called on Muslims to unite and work towards becoming the best ummah.
He also presented the Tokoh Hijratul Rasul this year to Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and the Tokoh Saudara Kita to businessman Ridhuan Foo Abdullah.
In Kangar, Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail called on influential Muslims to help strengthen unity especially among the Malays.
“Today I see disunity among the Muslims, especially among the Malays.
“This will not take us towards progress,” he said at the state-level celebration.
He also presented the Maal Hijrah award to businessman Tan Sri Mohd Ariffin Mohd Yusof, former executive councillor Datuk Mohd Zain Hamzah and former state police chief Datuk Ghazali Md Amin.
In Seremban, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan called on Muslims to learn from the hijrah as an inspiration to spur the country’s transformation.
The state-level celebration was graced by Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir.
Syariah Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Hussin Harun is Negeri Sembilan’s Tokoh Maal Hijrah recipient.
In Kota Kinabalu, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman called on the people to make the Hijrah a source of inspiration in embarking towards transformation.
He said in his speech read by his deputy Datuk Yahya Hussin that the transformation should be holistic either in terms of politics, economy, social or knowledge.
In Alor Setar, Sultan of Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah called on the people to refrain from using religion for their own selfish interest.
Saying that they were people making their own interpretation of Islam, he said, “they came up with statements to the extent of creating confusion and unease among Muslims.”
In Kuantan, Sultan of Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah wants excellent individual achievements to be translated into the wider context of excellence among the ummah.
He said there were many success stories among Muslims in many fields such as business and construction.
Present were Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and about 2,000 people.
Sultan Ahmad Shah also called on the people to practise the “1Malaysia 1Ummah” in their daily lives so as not to make the theme a mere rhetoric. — Bernama