PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said the
basic principle for being harmonious was for Muslims and non-Muslims to
respect and not hurt each other’s feelings.
“If there is another way of doing it, it is better not to hurt the feelings. If you go on the premise of who is right and who is wrong, we will never agree. But if you go on the premise that we should not hurt feelings, then we will be a peaceful country forever,” he said.
Najib was commenting on the interfaith committee which was set up in 2010 to harmonise the different faiths in the country.
When asked to comment on former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s book titled “Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia”, Najib said that he had not read it yet.
“I don’t know, I have not read it yet so I think I will reserve my comments until I’ve read the book. I need to read the book first. I cannot just comment based on somebody else’s comments,” he said.
Asked to comment on Abdullah’s statement in the book that Najib’s transformation for the country had been hindered by resistance from his own cabinet, Najib said there would always be people who supported and those who opposed change.
“Well every time you want to institute change, there will be those who are in favour of change because they can see what’s coming will benefit them. (There are also) those who fear change in any society, because they are not quite sure whether the change would be good for them or they would be in the position to take advantage of the change.
“But the only thing that is constant in this world is change, so if you don’t change you will be left behind, you will be overtaken and Malaysia will be overtaken as a nation. I'm sure we don’t want that,” he said.
He said Malaysians must have the spirit that the country and its people can be in the forefront, be competitive and one of the leading nations.
“After all, we started this Malaysia Boleh kind of thing. We are going to transform Malaysia to become a fully developed nation and this was a commitment made by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, supported by Pak Lah (Abdullah) and carried out by me as somebody who is now responsible to fulfil that vision for all Malaysians,” he added.
Najib said the transformation that he has started was actually the continuation of what was started during Dr Mahathir’s time.
“(This is) in order to achieve 2020 which was articulated by Dr Mahathir, supported by Pak Lah and now it is my turn and time to deliver. That is how I see it. This is a continuation of three prime ministers, to accomplish our grand ambition for Malaysia,” he said.
Najib also agreed with Abdullah’s observation that certain elements within Umno refused to reform.
“Umno has to reform, Umno has to change. We have started the process by changing the constitution but as you know changing people is a gargantuan task which may take more than just the time that I am the president of Umno... it might even require a few generations to change.
“But for Umno to remain relevant as a political party, it must change with the times so that we reflect the changing attitudes, the value of society and the expectation of society. I believe Umno has got the message but as in any political party, it takes time to change,” he added.
He said the people must also understand that Umno was a party that was in power and it was easy to criticise a party that was in power.
“The opposition can promise... it is easy to promise. The promise of hope is a lot easier than when you have to deliver and you must always remember that, because many parties have promised hope and failed to deliver,” he said.
The video conference call was held as part of the Hari Raya open house held at the prime minister’s official residence, Seri Perdana, for which more than 80,000 turned up.
Touching on the open house, Najib said: “The open house is a way to ensure a grand celebration. We took turns to greet the guest. Even ministers were on shift, so that’s good team work,” he said.
(Source: http://www.nst.com.my)
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