Wan Azizah (centre) with members of the Malaysian community in France. — Bernama photo
PARIS: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has called on all Malaysians to be patient and give the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government time to solve all the problems left by the previous Barisan Nasional government. She said the PH government might need one year or three years, or even longer, to repair the many ruins and damage in the country that was ruled by the government that practised kleptocracy for 61 years.
“It’s not easy to repair something that has been damaged for so long, there is no magic wand, there is no automatic button that you can just press (to solve everything)…it doesn’t work that way…it will take sweat and tears and it has to be done by everybody, all Malaysians.
“We all must work hard to repair the many critical ruins and damage, and this process may take a while,” she said at a meeting with the Malaysian diaspora in France here on Sunday.
Dr Wan Azizah is in a four-day working visit to France with the main agenda to chair two Unesco Management of Social Transformation (MOST) meetings, namely the MOST Bureau meeting on March 18 and the 14th Session of the Intergovernmental Council (IGC) for MOST on March 19 and 20. At the meeting attended by the Malaysian community and students in France, Dr Wan Azizah also explained why people’s unity was important for the country to move forward to become the New Malaysia. She said as a multi-racial country, people of one race should not be jealous or prejudice against those of other races.
“Look at New Zealand, a country so stable, prosperous and peaceful, but was shocked with a white supremacy propaganda incident in which the suspects attacked unarmed civilians who were performing prayers…we cannot have our own people to be jealous, angry and hate each other as Malaysians,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dr Wan Azizah also called on the Malaysian community and students in France return to Malaysia to help develop the country with their expertise and knowledge.
“We need the Malaysian diaspora from all over the world to actually help build the new Malaysia,” she added. — Bernama