KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 ― Bigotry and prejudice exist in Malaysia, but for all these flaws, the people are united because diversity is celebrated rather than used as a tool to magnify their differences, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
In his speech in search of a more just and stable world order, the prime minister observed that other countries where the people were as diverse had suffered from religious and racial conflicts, unlike Malaysia.
He said this is because Malaysians acknowledged that the push for the interests of a single ethnic or religious group would be destructive.
“We have our own sets of prejudices and bigotry amid our people but by and large, we have come to accept that any attempt to champion one race or religious group at the expense of the other will result in destruction of all that we have worked hard to build.
“Instead, we keep working on our common interests and common grounds. It is not easy but we kept plugging at it and Alhamdullillah, we have managed thus far,” he said in his written speech at the 5th annual conference of the multi-nation youth network Al Sharq Youth, held for the first time here.
A copy of the speech text was made available to Malay Mail.
Dr Mahathir said Malaysia's approach is to work on the “principle of fairness” when it realised “equality” may not provide results sought for, and that the country pushes for “compromises when we know making everyone satisfied is not possible”, while kindness and care is practised to fight bigotry and prejudices.
“Our differences in religion, race, culture and customs require us to make compromises and to be accommodating. And we learn to tolerate many things.
“Yes, some may say that it sounds good on paper and not all that we strived for had fallen into place. But they are work in progress and we are pragmatic enough to change our approaches when we know it is not taking us forward,” he said.
Earlier in the same written copy of the speech, Dr Mahathir said multicultural and multilingual Malaysia has gone beyond its tagline of “Malaysia Truly Asia” as it has turned global by accepting residents from elsewhere.
He said Malaysians take pride in both the country's diversity and its ability to move forward despite its diversity, adding that Malaysians have come to believe that “we are quite successful as a nation because of our diversity”.
“Indeed, managing the diversity is not pleasant at times. Most times, the differences are amplified and the similarities subdued.
“We have had our knocks and falls due to these differences but we have also managed to turn them into our strengths and reason for unity,” he said.
On the website for the conference, the organiser said Malaysia was selected as the venue host this year as it has “one of the most diverse societies in the region”.
“It is succeeding in creating a healthy atmosphere of tolerance and harmony among different races and religions. It is one of the most prominent countries in South East Asia with a unique successful development model, and it is rapidly growing in terms of its economy, technology, entrepreneurship, finance sector and many more. Malaysia has witnessed a great example of power transformation with a very democratic and distinctive model. Moreover, it is the jewel of Asia with mesmerizing natural beauty,” it added.
