Shafie
TAWAU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said race and religion should not be used as a tool to divide the people in the spirit of nationalism.
“Race and religion should not be a tool for us to be divided. It is indeed the spirit of nationalism if we want to enhance it, but nationalism can be very destructive and very divisive if it is not guided,” he said during the Eighth Tawau International Cultural Festival (TICF) on Saturday night.
Shafie went on to applaud the efforts of the Tawau Municipal Council for organising TICF as a platform to encourage the various ethnic cultures to come together.
“It is indeed very important for us, to ensure that we can inculcate all the various cultures that we have in this part of the world to gather together and enhance the rapport between each other despite the diversity,” he said.
Shafie said it is important to develop a love for the country and the races in the country, and there should not be narrow-minded thinking prevailing among the various races, and called on the people of Tawau to be united to develop the district.
He said what is important among the various cultures is the need to get to know each other and not hate each other as it will divide the people and impede developments.
Through this unique festival that showcases the diverse differences of cultures of the local communities to the international communities, he said it would also help the local communities to know each other’s cultures and enhance harmony and peace among the various races, beliefs and regions.
The richness of cultures in Sabah is a good example where the people can live in harmony and respect each other, he said.
Shafie said the community should be friendly to tourists so that they will come back to visit and spread the word to other tourists on the friendliness of Sabah people which in turn will fill the hotels, homestays, restaurants with tourists.
He said with the harmony prevailing among the various cultures it should become one of the tourism products for the country’s income.
Also present were Head of State Tun Datuk Seri Panglima (Dr) Hj Juhar Datuk Hj Mahiruddin, State Speaker Datuk Seri Panglima Syed Abas Syed Ali, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau, Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Christina Liew, Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Jaujan Sambakong and Tawau Municipal Council president Alijus Sipil.