CYBERJAYA, Aug 20 — People should not waste time bickering over their skin colour and other matters which cannot be changed but should direct their resources towards deepening their knowledge and promoting racial unity, said Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.
She said it is important for the people to cast aside their fear and suspicion of each other for the country to remain strong.
“As long as we do not mix with and respect others, we will not be able to compete with other countries and will waste time quarrelling over skin colour and other matters which cannot be changed,” she said when opening a community education carnival involving parents and the community here today.
Yeoh said schools are a good venue for inculcating the spirit of unity and therefore teachers should encourage students to mix with each other through activities in and outside the classroom.
“Teachers should inspire unity and interaction beyond the boundaries we ourselves have built. Every generation has its own fears and we should motivate the coming generation to interact to instil unity,” she said.
In conjunction with the National Day celebration on August 31, Yeoh hoped that the people would not take for granted the spirit of unity prevailing in the country.
“We must protect this spirit of unity not only for our generation but also for our children’s.
“We can see that in other countries where there is no unity, troubles will break out and children will also become victims when there is no peace,” she added. — Bernama
