KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — In a sign of the opposition’s growing maturity, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim signalled today the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) bloc’s readiness to co-operate with the Najib administration to steer the country out of the danger zone and towards a brighter future.

The opposition leader extended an olive branch to political foe Datuk Seri Najib Razak, asking the prime minister to call for joint talks to resolve the plethora of issues plaguing the country and which threaten to hobble its socio-economic leap into the ranks of the high-income nations.

“Notwithstanding our strong protests about the validity of the outcome of the last elections, we are prepared to put aside our differences for the sake of the nation’s well-being and future.

“In this regard, we believe that it is imperative for the prime minister to convene without the slightest delay a round-table meeting between the BN government and Pakatan Rakyat in order to deliberate on the issues raised and formulate a comprehensive solution,” he said in his National Day message today.

The country marks its 56th year of independence from colonial British rule tomorrow.

But Anwar said there seemed little cause for celebration and the country had grown more polarised along racial and religious lines, and cited as an example the recent release of a film which he said would “only serve to incite communal animosity even as its artistic value remains questionable”.

He stopped short of naming the film.

He also criticised the police’s strong-arm response to the spike in violent crimes such as shootings, robberies and snatch thefts, and called for a more in-depth and prudent approach to resolve the rising wave.

But it was the threat of an economic downgrade by global credit ratings agencies that appeared to be the central bone of concern for the PKR adviser, who suggested that a comprehensive management of the country’s finances and economy would pave the way to resolving its social ills and put it back on track to realising its goals.

“On the eve of our 56th Merdeka, economic reforms are no longer a matter of policy contestation or political rhetoric.

“It is a national imperative that should transcend partisan and ideological boundaries because we cannot afford to slide back while our neighbours progress unabatedly,” he said.

Malaysia needed a leader to display his firm resolve and moral courage to move the country forward, Anwar said.